Seoul City Conducts Full Survey of 238 Committees... Plans to Abolish or Integrate 29 Within the Year

Establishing Self-Implementation Plans for Follow-up Actions... Proposing Legal and Ordinance Amendments, Preparing Activation Measures
Require Prior Consultation When Establishing Committees and Set Duration Limits to Prevent Habitual Committee Formation

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 1st that it will conduct a full survey of 238 committees operating based on laws or ordinances and will reorganize 29 inactive committees, including those that have not held meetings in the past year, through abolition, integration, non-permanent operation, and activation measures.

According to Seoul City, the number of committees under the city stood at 238 as of the end of last year, an increase of 16 committees compared to the previous year, and has been steadily increasing over the past 10 years. The number of committees under the city was 103 in 2011, 152 in 2015, 203 in 2018, 222 in 2020, and 238 in 2021.

Seoul plans to abolish six committees, including the Hope Economy Committee, whose necessity has decreased due to the achievement of installation purposes and changes in conditions. Thirteen committees, such as the Resident Referendum Request Deliberation Committee, which are necessary in terms of purpose and function but have poor operational performance, will be operated on a non-permanent basis when agenda items arise. Additionally, committees performing similar functions will be integrated, and committees established within the last two years but not activated will have activation plans developed and implemented.

Seoul City plans to establish self-implementation plans for the target committees by each department and bureau within the year and proceed with follow-up measures. Committees requiring reorganization will pursue legislative amendments or ordinance revisions, and committees with poor meeting performance will develop activation plans. In particular, to reorganize committees established by law but with low installation and operational effectiveness, Seoul will continuously propose legal amendments to central government ministries. They plan to change the mandatory provision "shall establish committees" to a discretionary provision "may establish committees" and delegate matters related to committee composition and operation, such as member terms, to city and provincial ordinances.

The city has also prepared measures to strengthen the substance of committee operations. Key points include strengthening prior consultation and sunset clause application when establishing committees, monitoring overlapping appointments and long-term reappointments of members, expanding youth member participation, applying conflict of interest prevention for members, and enhancing committee information disclosure.

First, when establishing a committee, prior consultation with the committee’s overseeing department will be required. This is to prevent the habitual establishment of committees simply because the demand for deliberation and consultation increases when ordinances are enacted or revised due to new policy initiatives. Furthermore, the application of the sunset clause will be strengthened so that, except for special reasons, the ordinance establishing the committee stipulates a duration of two years.

To prevent specific members from participating in multiple committees excessively or monopolizing participation, overlapping appointments (more than three committees) and long-term reappointments (over six years) will be continuously monitored. Additionally, youth member participation will be expanded. For committees that significantly impact youth lives, at least 10% of appointed members will be youth members, as stipulated in the newly added youth-friendly committee provisions in the "Ordinance on the Establishment and Operation of Committees Affiliated with the Seoul Metropolitan Government." This is expected to diversify committee composition and expand youth participation opportunities in city administration.

To prevent conflicts of interest among members and strengthen citizens’ right to know, a comprehensive revision of the "Ordinance and Rules on the Establishment and Operation of Various Committees of Seoul Metropolitan Government" will be promoted within the year. Provisions for member disqualification, avoidance, and recusal will be newly added to the ordinance to prevent members from pursuing private interests. When holding committees requiring resolutions, the obligation to submit an integrity pledge will be specified in the ordinance, and confidentiality and prohibition of private use will be added to the pledge content to strengthen conflict of interest prevention.

To more actively guarantee citizens’ right to know and strengthen committee information disclosure, the ordinance will explicitly mandate the disclosure of committee meeting results and minutes, and additional measures will be pursued. Seongho Jo, Seoul City Organization Officer, said, “We will reorganize inefficient committees and improve operations so that committees can contribute not only to citizens’ participation in city administration but also to efficient organizational management,” adding, “We will establish institutional measures within the year to ensure committees operate fairly and transparently.”

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