Youth Advisory Panels Established Across All Ministries... Minister-Direct 'Youth Aides' Appointed

Presidential Transition Committee Planning and Coordination Division Youth Communication TF Director Jang Ye-chan [Photo by Yonhap News]

The Presidential Transition Committee has decided to expand the practical participation of young people in national governance by establishing 'Youth Advisory Groups' in all ministries and appointing youth aides directly under the ministers. The aim is to enable young officials in their 20s and 30s within ministries to directly participate in the formulation and execution of policies.

On the 27th, Jang Ye-chan, head of the Youth Communication Task Force (TF) under the Planning and Coordination Subcommittee of the Transition Committee, held a briefing at the committee's office in Tongui-dong, Seoul, and announced measures to expand youth participation in national governance.

First, Youth Advisory Groups will be formed in all ministries, and youth aides directly under the ministers will be appointed. The Youth Advisory Groups will operate on a non-standing basis, monitoring policies from the youth perspective through field reports and providing feedback, while the youth aides, who are young officials in their 20s and 30s within the ministries, will support the Youth Advisory Groups.

The Transition Committee plans to recruit youth aides through external open calls if necessary, and will pilot the program first in the nine ministries that have dedicated youth policy organizations before expanding it to all ministries.

Jang explained, "(Youth aides) can be current 20-something aides within ministries, and depending on the minister, external recruitment is also possible," adding, "There may be competitive attempts to hire them as special appointed staff."

Additionally, the government committee for youth participation in central ministries will be expanded, and the proportion of youth appointees will be increased to significantly broaden opportunities for youth participation. Qualification requirements related to appointments will be relaxed to remove barriers to youth participation, and non-face-to-face meetings will be actively utilized to promote the participation of local youth in government committees.

The Transition Committee will establish a 'Youth Talent Database' with 100,000 youth panelists under the Office for Government Policy Coordination, creating a foundation that ministries, local governments, and public institutions can use to identify youth talent and review policies.

In particular, to create a sustainable ecosystem for youth policy implementation, a separate 'Youth Development Fund' will be established, and the establishment of a dedicated youth policy research institute (Youth Policy Research Institute) to support evidence-based youth policies will be considered.

Jang emphasized, "We will fulfill the president-elect's commitment that any young person willing to participate can become a partner in the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's governance." The Youth Communication TF plans to further develop concrete measures through discussions with the Office for Government Policy Coordination and relevant ministries, focusing on the announced content.

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