Seoul City Opens Public Recruitment for 'Citizen Committee Members' to Participate in Major Policy Deliberations

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The Seoul Metropolitan Government announced on the 3rd that it will publicly recruit 9 citizen committee members to participate in citizen participation-type committees until the 16th.

Citizen participation-type committees refer to committees that depart from traditional expert-centered committees by opening the appointment process (public recruitment) and appointing ordinary citizens as committee members to expand citizen participation. Anyone who is a Seoul citizen aged 19 or older with interest and experience in the relevant field and meets the qualification requirements requested by the respective committee can apply.

In 2018, Seoul appointed 28 citizen members across three committees: 2 for the Urban Agriculture Committee, 3 for the Local Bookstore Committee, and 23 for the Seoul Library Network. In 2019, 5 members were appointed across two committees: 3 for the Children and Youth Human Rights Committee and 2 for the Public Meal Committee. In the first half of 2020, 5 citizen members were appointed across three committees: 1 for the Artworks Review Committee, 3 for the Cultural Citizen City Policy Committee, and 1 for the Citizen Public Interest Activity Promotion Committee.

Among the selected citizen members, 38 who completed committee training were assigned to 8 committees considering their preferences.

The citizen members being recruited this time include a total of 9 people, including 5 for the Water Rate Adjustment Review Committee and 1 for the Artworks Review Committee, along with reserve members. After completing committee training, they will be appointed in August by the departments in charge of the respective committees (Jungbu Waterworks Office, Design Policy Division).

Qualifications for citizen members for the Water Rate Adjustment Review Committee require residency in Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, Yongsan-gu, or Seongbuk-gu, which are under the jurisdiction of the Jungbu Waterworks Office (4 out of 5 members are planned to be female). For the Artworks Review Committee, to avoid conflicts of interest, applicants must not be engaged in the production or installation of architectural artworks.

Citizens wishing to apply for citizen committee membership can fill out the 'Citizen Committee Application Form' on the Seoul Metropolitan Government website and submit it via email to the person in charge at hyunbaic1@seoul.go.kr.

The city plans to actively discover more citizen participation-type committees and continuously expand the number of citizen members.

Lee Dong-sik, Seoul Cooperation Officer, stated, "The innovation of the committee system, focusing on expanding citizen participation-type committees, is based on recommendations made by civil society to the mayor in 2017 and is being promoted by the Seoul Metropolitan Government. By promoting committee system innovation as a cooperative governance system that strengthens private sector participation and authority across city administration, we aim to enhance citizens' democratic rights and create a structure to solve the complex and multifaceted problems of the metropolitan city of Seoul on a participatory basis."