Gwangju City, Citizens to Decide on 'Participatory Budget Projects'

Online Voting on 'Citizen Square Gwangju ON' from September 11 to 14
21 Proposed Projects for Next Year... Selection of Outstanding Projects from Last Year

Gwangju City Hall exterior view.

On September 11, Gwangju City announced that it will conduct an online vote for the selection of citizen participatory budget projects for 2026 through the online platform 'Citizen Square Gwangju ON' for four days until September 14.

The projects subject to this vote include a total of 21 citizen-proposed initiatives: four in the transportation sector, such as installing runway-style crosswalks for pedestrian safety; eight in urban regeneration, including improvements to sculpture-themed children's parks; two in welfare, such as pain clinics to improve the quality of life for people with disabilities; three in the environment sector, including mountain trail maintenance; one in culture and tourism, such as installing steel railings along the Jungoe Neighborhood Park Unamje section; one in job creation, such as training home repair experts; and one in general administration, such as strengthening safety measures at village intersections.

Additionally, outstanding projects completed last year will also be selected. The candidates for outstanding projects are: street tree fruit disposal, installation of child protection guardrails in areas with many private academies, creation of barrier-free school routes, expanded support for absorbent products for people with severe disabilities, and installation of sidewalks for pedestrian safety-a total of five projects.

Citizens participating in the vote can select projects that should be included in the 2026 budget and, at the same time, choose one completed project from 2024 as an outstanding project. Any Gwangju citizen is eligible to participate in the vote.

From March 25 to April 30, the city received a total of 91 project proposals (amounting to 22.3 billion won) through a public call for citizen suggestions. After review by relevant departments and deliberation by the Participatory Budget Committee, 21 projects (worth 3.3 billion won) were finalized as voting subjects.

The final projects will be announced in mid-December through the 'Citizen Participatory Budget Website,' following the results of the online vote, decisions by the Participatory Budget Committee, and budget reviews by the city council.

Lee Byungcheol, Director of Planning and Coordination, stated, "The citizen participatory budget vote is an important system that incorporates citizens' opinions throughout the entire budgeting process," adding, "Your valuable participation will serve as a foundation for enhancing the transparency and fairness of the budget."

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