Seogu, Gwangju Draws Attention as a Leading Model of Community-Centered Autonomous Administration

Ministry of the Interior and Safety Visits Seogu
Listening to Community Autonomy Initiatives and Foundation Building Efforts

The "community-centered autonomous administration" being promoted by Seogu District in Gwangju Metropolitan City is drawing attention from the central government.

According to Seogu on December 11, officials including Koo Bongeun, Head of the Smart Welfare Safety Community Promotion Team at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, visited Seogu the previous day to examine cases of building a foundation for resident autonomy and institutional innovation, and to exchange various opinions.

Seogu held an on-site meeting to share cases of resident autonomy committee operations on the 10th at the Seogu Social Value Center, attended by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety's Smart Welfare Safety Community Promotion Team and others. Provided by Gwangju Seogu

At the meeting, four local district heads representing different regions and resident autonomy committee chairs attended to introduce Seogu's pioneering hub-district and linked-district cooperation system.

Seogu became the first in the nation to establish a Community Government Bureau and has divided its 18 districts into four regions-collaborative, growing, livable, and happy living zones-operating a hub-district and linked-district cooperation system. Each district has developed its own brand identity (BI) reflecting its unique identity, history, and culture, and is carrying out specialized projects accordingly.

As a result, Seogu has achieved tangible outcomes such as providing resident-tailored services, resolving administrative imbalances, enhancing administrative efficiency, and expanding resident participation, thereby strengthening the foundation for genuine grassroots autonomy.

Last month, Seogu was honored as the only double awardee nationwide at the National Local Autonomy Best Practices Contest commemorating the 30th anniversary of local autonomy, winning the Minister of the Interior and Safety Award in both the institutional policy and resident autonomy categories.

Jo Jinok, Director of the Community Government Bureau, stated, "The administrative innovation based on community autonomy that Seogu has been pursuing focuses on creating tangible changes in residents' daily lives," adding, "We hope that the visit by officials from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety will help spread Seogu's model of autonomous administration across the country."

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