Gwangju Seo-gu Selected Most for 7 Consecutive Years at National Resident Autonomy Expo

Published 24 Oct.2022 15:46(KST)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City (Mayor Kim I-gang) has continued its best-ever record as the local government with the highest number of excellent cases selected nationwide for seven consecutive years at the 21st National Resident Autonomy Expo.

According to Seo-gu on the 24th, a total of 321 excellent cases from local governments nationwide were submitted for this contest, co-hosted and organized by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Open Society Citizens' Coalition. After the first document screening and the second interview screening, 60 excellent cases were finally selected.

Seo-gu applied in all six fields: resident autonomy, regional revitalization, learning communities, resident organization networks, institutional policies, and special contests. After the first document screening and the second interview screening, a total of eight cases were finally selected as excellent cases.

The excellent cases include Pungam-dong’s “Realizing the Green & Living Autonomy Network: Seeing Again, Looking Ahead, and Doing Together,” which features the activation of an alternative energy experiential learning center and the hosting of the Fringe Festival; Hwajeong 3-dong’s “Building the Pillar of the Resident Autonomy Committee, Laying the Floor of the Resident General Assembly, and Solving Village Problems,” which holds school assemblies and resident general assemblies centered on the resident autonomy committee.

Other cases include Geumho 1-dong’s “All Together as WE, Let’s Go Together!,” which promotes commercial district revitalization, cultural performances, and environmental improvements through cooperation between the nearby food alley commercial district and the resident autonomy committee; and Dongcheon-dong’s “Dongcheon Village Where Generations Come Together, The Whole Village Is a School,” which operates youth village programs and focuses on carbon neutrality.

Regarding resource circulation, which has recently emerged as an important social value, Chipyeong-dong’s excellent case “Chipyeong Green Wave, A Green Tomorrow Together” shows residents’ determination to solve problems through the establishment of the Chipyeong Village Resource Circulation Platform and 100 re100 resource circulation stores.

There is also Nongsung 1-dong’s “Fruitful Resident Organizations, All Become Cherry Blossoms Dreaming of the Future of Cherry Blossom Village!,” which branded the village as Cherry Blossom Village in full bloom and promoted cooperative governance networks and village garden projects based on this branding.

Additionally, Hwajeong 1-dong’s “Hwajeong Hanadong United from the Apartment Collapse Accident” formed the Safety Village Council, the control tower for living safety, through the crisis of an apartment collapse accident, and conducted various safety activities and campaigns to become a safe village.

Finally, Seo-gu’s “Closer, Faster, and More Convenient Village Government in Daily Life,” which drastically narrowed the gap between policy demanders and suppliers by implementing village government that transfers resident life-related tasks from the district office to the dong administrative welfare centers and by establishing “Baro Munja Harangkke,” a direct communication channel between the district mayor and residents.

With the highest number of excellent cases selected this time, Seo-gu has been the local government with the most selections nationwide for seven consecutive years at the Resident Autonomy Expo, from four cases in 2016 to eight cases in 2022, demonstrating its role as a leading local government in resident autonomy.

Meanwhile, Seo-gu will be invited to the nationwide resident autonomy excellent case sharing event held at BEXCO in Busan from the 10th of next month, where it will operate an on-site booth introducing village activities and participate in the awards ceremony.