Regulations on Seoul City's Role and Responsibilities for Revitalizing Civil Society and Promoting Public Interest Activities... Incorporating Long-Standing Civil Society Projects into Ordinance, Including Establishing Social Recognition Systems for Public Interest Activities and Supporting Nonprofit Jobs
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul Metropolitan Council member Shin Won-chul (Democratic Party, Seodaemun 1) successfully passed the ordinance on the Activation of Civil Society and Promotion of Public Interest Activities in Seoul, which he proposed on the 15th, at the Seoul Metropolitan Council plenary session.
With this, Seoul becomes the first local government in the country to establish an ordinance aimed at promoting the activation of civil society.
In 2013, Councilor Shin also proposed the Ordinance on the Promotion of Public Interest Activities of Seoul Citizens, laying the foundation for autonomous activities of civil society organizations and establishing the basis for creating the ‘NPO Support Center,’ playing a pioneering role in spreading this model to local governments nationwide.
Over the following seven years, with the promotion of village community policies and the expansion of cooperative governance, citizen participation in policymaking was revitalized, achieving both quantitative and qualitative growth in public interest activities. To respond to changes and demands, the ordinance on the promotion of public interest activities was fully revised and renamed as the ‘Ordinance on the Activation of Civil Society and Promotion of Public Interest Activities in Seoul.’
The revised ordinance defines the role and responsibility of Seoul as the driving force behind civil society activation and establishes the legal basis for financial support. It reflects many policy projects long demanded by civil society, including stable self-reliance support, establishment of public interest activity support facilities, support for nonprofit jobs, and the creation of a social recognition system for citizen public interest activities.
As a result, policies promoting civil society activation in Seoul are expected to gain greater momentum.
A key point is the recognition that the activation of civil society and promotion of public interest activities are responsibilities of Seoul, and the ordinance stipulates that Seoul will prioritize these as key policy tasks.
In particular, the establishment of a social recognition system is highly praised for providing institutional grounds to resolve the unreasonable reality where social activities in the nonprofit sector have expanded but are not recognized as career experience.
Furthermore, by stipulating the installation and operation of public interest activity support facilities and support for nonprofit jobs in the ordinance to promote citizen public interest activities, it is expected that organizational formation and activities of civil society in various fields will be encouraged, and that citizen public interest activities will spread throughout society starting from small units.
To lay the foundation for civil society activation, Seoul has been collecting diverse opinions from civil society and conducting public deliberation processes since 2019. This year, Councilor Shin personally participated in policy meetings, acknowledged the need for ordinance revision, and proposed the amendment.
Since February last year, a ‘Policy Recommendation Task Force for Civil Society Activation’ composed of 18 members including civil society organizations and experts has been operating. Through 17 public deliberation sessions such as advisory meetings, policy forums, and workshops, consolidated proposals were submitted to the Chairperson of the Seoul Democracy Commission in January this year.
Additionally, the Seoul NPO Support Center conducted a research project titled ‘Study on the Establishment of Basic Ordinance and Basic Plan for Activation of Seoul Civil Society’ from July to November last year, summarizing the demands of civil society.
After going through public deliberation and reflection on the research results, the ordinance draft was proposed following policy meetings in June and August hosted by Councilor Shin, and finally passed at the plenary session.
According to the newly revised ordinance, Seoul plans to establish a ‘Basic Plan for Civil Society Activation and Public Interest Promotion’ by June 2021.
To this end, an advisory committee for the basic plan will be operated starting November, and in the first half of 2021, forums and public hearings will be held to gather opinions from citizens and civil society.
Once the basic plan is established, it is expected that major tasks related to civil society activation and public interest promotion will be policy-ized and classified into short- and long-term policy projects, thereby creating a policy implementation system that reflects the demands of civil society.
Lee Dong-sik, Seoul Cooperation Officer, stated, “The ordinance revision is significant in that it establishes the institutional foundation for ‘citizen participation’ included in the four-year city administration plan,” and added, “We will develop a basic plan for civil society activation based on citizen participation to ensure that institutionalized parts are concretized into practical policies.”
Councilor Shin Won-chul expressed his expectations, saying, “I hope this ordinance revision will contribute even a little to the NGO ecosystem and serve as a catalyst for nationwide expansion,” and “I hope that the experience of the past seven years reflects the changed role of civil society, evolves into a more advanced system, and positively influences the legislation of the ‘Basic Act on Civil Society Development.’”
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