Jeong Da-eun, Gwangju City Council Member, Hosts Innovative Policy Forum of the Urban Planning Committee

Need to Expand Meeting Transparency and Citizen Participation Opportunities... Resignation from Committee Position Announced

A policy debate was held to explore the operation and innovation plans of the Gwangju Urban Planning Committee, which had been embroiled in various controversies due to its opaque and closed-door operations.

According to the Gwangju Metropolitan Council on the 1st, the policy debate was chaired by Jeong Da-eun, a Gwangju city council member (Democratic Party of Korea, Buk-gu 2), with presentations given in turn by Ryu Jung-seok, Professor Emeritus of Urban Engineering at Chung-Ang University, Lee Kyung-hee, Secretary General of the Gwangju Environmental Movement Federation, and Park Jong-ryeol, Chairperson of the Autonomy and Decentralization Committee.

Professor Ryu Jung-seok, who gave a presentation, stated, “Cities such as New York and Chicago in the United States, and London in the United Kingdom, disclose parts of their urban planning committee meetings through live broadcasts or portals. Gwangju’s Urban Planning Committee should also disclose parts of its meeting contents to secure fairness and create a space where citizens can review agenda items and provide opinions from their perspective.”

Chairperson Park Jong-ryeol said, “For the Urban Planning Committee to perform its functions properly, the Gwangju Metropolitan Council must actively engage in revising the Urban Planning Committee ordinance,” adding, “I hope that active discussions on the ordinance amendment proposals suggested by civic groups and experts will take place and that the ordinance will be revised this year.”

Council member Jeong Da-eun emphasized, “Although trillions of won in profits are decided through the Urban Planning Committee, citizens’ right to know is not guaranteed,” and added, “Since it is an organization that determines large-scale development profits and citizens’ quality of life, it must proceed transparently and fairly, and the structure should be improved to expand opportunities for citizen participation.”

She also clearly stated her resignation from the committee in pursuit of innovation in the Urban Planning Committee.

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