Gyeongnam Uiryeong-gun Decides to Fully Transition to 'Resident Autonomy Council' Without the Title 'Committee Member'

Authority of Resident Representative Bodies with Substantial Power, Not Just Auxiliary or Advisory Roles

On the 10th, Umyunjang meeting held in Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam, decided to fully convert the existing Resident Autonomy Committee into the Resident Autonomy Association.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Uiryeong-gun, Gyeongnam Province, is fully converting the existing residents' autonomy committee into a residents' autonomy association to revitalize grassroots autonomy led by residents.

By February, applications for conversion will be accepted from 10 myeon (townships) without residents' autonomy associations, and in March, approval for the conversion will be requested from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

At the myeon and eup heads meeting held on the 10th, the 13 eup and myeon heads agreed to gradually expand the residents' autonomy associations, which are currently operated only in Uiryeong-eup, Hwajeong-myeon, and Yongdeok-myeon, starting this year, and to operate them in all eup and myeon after 2023.

Unlike the previous residents' autonomy committee, which only played an administrative support and advisory role, the residents' autonomy association holds authority as a practical residents' representative organization and decides and executes local issues and agendas through residents' general meetings.

County Governor Oh Taewan has strengthened communication channels with residents through bottom-up resident participation such as the honorary county governor system, policy advisory group, and residents' pledge evaluation group since the 1st.

The county plans to complete a bottom-up resident participation platform by establishing residents' autonomy associations in all eup and myeon, thereby enhancing the execution power of resident participation and improving policy completeness.

At the meeting, an excellent case from Hwajeong-myeon, which has already established and operated a residents' autonomy association, was shared.

Hwajeong-myeon’s residents' autonomy association won an excellence award at the 3rd Gyeongsangnam-do Residents' Autonomy Expo Residents' Autonomy Excellence Case Competition held last October.

Hwajeong Dabang Branch No. 1, operated by the Hwajeong-myeon residents' autonomy association, was recognized as a model case of residents' autonomy by creating a Dream Cafe utilizing the Hwajeong Complex Cultural Center and linking it with obtaining barista certification.

Not only Hwajeong-myeon but also the Innovation Resident Centers in Uiryeong-eup and Yongdeok-myeon, selected through the Gyeongsangnam-do eup, myeon, and dong Innovation Resident Center contest project, are expected to become spaces for residents' autonomy associations.

Governor Oh said, “To ignite the fire of administrative innovation in Uiryeong-gun, we want to use resident participation as the most precious fuel,” and added, “Based on the heightened awareness of resident participation, we will firmly establish a system that extensively collects residents' opinions in the budget and policy decision-making process.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.