Gwangju City and Civic Groups: "Civil Society Shined in Times of Crisis"

5th Forum Pledges Joint Commitment
to Realizing 'Citizen Happiness'

Gwang-jiung Kang, mayor of Gwangju, attended the "5th Gwangju City-Civil Society Organizations Forum" held on the afternoon of the 24th at the Gwangju Real Content Cube (GCC) in Nam-gu, discussing cooperation plans for the development of Gwangju. Photo by Gwangju City

Gwangju City and civic organizations are joining forces to pursue their shared goal of 'citizen happiness.' In particular, they have agreed to work together to strengthen the capacity of civil society, highlighting how cooperation between civic groups and the administration has shined during crises such as the declaration of martial law, the impeachment crisis, and the Jeju Air passenger plane disaster.

On the 25th, Gwangju City announced that it held the '5th Gwangju City-Civic Organizations Forum' on the first floor studio of the Gwangju Realistic Content Cube (GCC) on the afternoon of the 24th.

This forum, held twice a year since the first one in January 2023, was an open and candid communication session without a set agenda, built on the trust established through regular discussions.

During the forum, the city and civic organizations agreed that the goals of both the administration and civic groups are 'citizen happiness and regional development.' The forum began with a keynote presentation by Mayor Kang Gijung titled 'Gwangju's Challenges and Changes, and the Future of Gwangju,' and another by Park Mikyung, Executive Representative of the Gwangju Civic Organizations Council, titled 'Efforts of Gwangju's Civil Society for the End of the 12.3 Rebellion and Restoration of Democracy.'

Civic organizations asked about and suggested alternatives for Gwangju City's implementation plans on topics such as ▲ revitalizing civil society ▲ strengthening local autonomy and village governance ▲ enhancing the overall function of gender equality policies ▲ and promoting policies for a city of dajabo (public bulletin boards).

The city explained policy directions such as ▲ encouraging civic society participation for a warmer livelihood economy ▲ and fiscal decentralization for balanced regional development, seeking ways to cooperate with civic organizations.

During the forum, civic organizations emphasized that civil society should be recognized as a 'public good,' and called for increased support for civic organizations to further strengthen the capacity that has shone in crises such as the impeachment situation. They stressed that, along with self-reflection to keep pace with changing times, the administration must provide space, personnel, and education to enable civil society to grow and realize 'stronger democracy.'

There was consensus on the importance of cooperation between the administration and civic groups, as demonstrated by their roles during the 12.3 martial law crisis?such as the 'Emergency Joint Meeting for the Invalidation of Martial Law and Protection of the Constitution'?and in operating the joint memorial altar for the December 29 Jeju Air passenger plane disaster, where they took the lead in comforting the community in times of tragedy.

Mayor Kang stated, "Although the administration and civil society each have their own roles, we must look at both the forest and the trees together," and emphasized, "To fulfill these roles well, the administration and civic society need to understand each other's difficulties and take steps toward each other, one at a time."

Mayor Kang also addressed the issue of supporting civic organizations, saying, "Society is changing rapidly. It is time for civic organizations to adopt a new design," and added, "We need in-depth discussions with civic organizations about support measures. Let's continue the follow-up discussions."

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