[Asia Exclusive] Citizens Directly Shaping Sejong City... "High Satisfaction"

Appointing Eup, Myeon, and Dong Chiefs Recommended by Residents
Directly Deciding Administrative Functions Related to Residents' Lives
Solving Daily Inconveniences Together with Public Officials
Increased Satisfaction as Residents Participate in City Administration
City Hall Focuses More on Completing the 'Administrative Capital'

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City. / Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] The future of Sejong envisioned by Mayor Lee Chun-hee focuses on 'citizen autonomy.' Rather than the city deciding all systems and budgets, the mayor's plan is to enable citizens to directly participate and lead city administration. Since taking office, Mayor Lee has created 12 implementation tasks for the 'Sejong-type autonomy model' across five major areas: village organizations, legislation, finance, planning, and economy. Among these, nine have already been completed, and the remaining three are actively being pursued.

One representative task promoted by Mayor Lee is the citizen recommendation system for eup, myeon, and dong heads. In other cities and provinces, the mayor arbitrarily appoints one Grade 5 public official as the head of eup, myeon, or dong, but in Sejong, if residents of the area recommend one candidate from 3 to 4 volunteer public officials, the mayor appoints that person. All 20 eup, myeon, and dong heads in Sejong were selected through this citizen recommendation system. Mayor Lee said, "In effect, the authority to choose eup, myeon, and dong heads has been given to the residents," adding, "As a result, residents' satisfaction is very high, and whereas eup, myeon, and dong heads used to work with the mayor, their superior, in mind, now they work with the residents in mind."

The establishment of residents' autonomy councils is also a distinctive feature of Sejong City. These councils are bodies where residents themselves decide on administrative functions related to their daily lives. Currently, 18 out of the 20 eup, myeon, and dong have completed their establishment. Within broad guidelines set by the city, the councils decide on specific budgets and project plans. Mayor Lee said, "Residents know their local conditions best, so they make better budget plans than the city hall," adding, "Instead, city hall can focus more on tasks such as completing the administrative capital and promoting the National Assembly Sejong Assembly Hall."

Sejong City uniquely operates the 'Citizen Impressive Special Committee,' where citizens directly identify inconveniences in daily life and work together with public officials to resolve them. About 20 members, including citizens and experts, hold weekly meetings to discuss tasks and solutions. Most of the agenda items are closely related to residents' daily lives, such as illegal road banners removal, traffic safety measures in child protection zones, and ways to promote bicycle use.

Mayor Lee said, "Policies created through citizens' own study and discussion are of high quality." The last task selected last year, 'Creating a Hangeul-Loving City Sejong,' is expected to be reflected in the reorganization of Sejong City's administration. The Citizen Impressive Special Committee was awarded first place in the local government excellent policy competition hosted by the Democratic Party of Korea in December last year.

Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong City. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Mayor Lee's ambitious local food project, pushed forward despite concerns from those around him, is also progressing successfully. The project aims to have agricultural products produced in Sejong consumed within Sejong. When the new city's population reaches the target of 500,000, the goal is for 2,000 households, one-third of all eup and myeon farms, to participate in the local food project. Last year, Sejong City's local food direct store 'Singsing Market' achieved cumulative sales of 100 billion KRW five years after opening. Mayor Lee expressed affection, saying, "Even farmers said local food was difficult, but currently, no place in the country does it as well as Sejong City."

While focusing on citizen autonomy and revitalizing local projects, Mayor Lee also plans to reset the city's basic urban plan suitable for an administrative capital. He said, "This year marks a historic turning point as Sejong City advances from an administrative hub city to an administrative capital with both administrative and political functions," adding, "Accordingly, we plan to supplement the third phase of the Happy City construction project to include land use and transportation plans suitable for the administrative capital."

In the long term, the goal is to complete the administrative capital by promoting a constitutional amendment to formally designate the administrative capital. In the short term, efforts will be made for the construction of the National Assembly Sejong Assembly Hall, relocation of central administrative agencies such as the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and the Ministry of Justice that have not yet moved, and the establishment of Sejong Administrative Court and District Court. Mayor Lee emphasized, "Since I first proposed the establishment of the National Assembly Sejong branch office during the 2012 local elections, it has taken eight years to bear fruit," adding, "Since it was achieved with difficulty, I will do my best to cooperate with the political circles and related institutions to ensure its swift construction."

◆Biography of Lee Chun-hee, Mayor of Sejong Special Self-Governing City

△ Born 1955 in Gochang, Jeonbuk △ Department of Public Administration, Korea University △ Ph.D. in Urban Studies, Hanyang University △ 21st Administrative Examination △ Head of High-Speed Rail Construction Planning Team, Ministry of Construction and Transportation △ Secretary for Construction and Transportation, Presidential Secretariat △ Director of Housing and Urban Bureau, Ministry of Construction and Transportation △ Head of New Administrative Capital Construction Promotion Support Team, Ministry of Construction and Transportation △ Commissioner of the Administrative City Construction Agency △ Vice Minister of Construction and Transportation △ President of Korea Institute of Construction Industry △ Commissioner of Saemangeum Gunsan Economic Free Zone Authority △ President of Incheon Urban Development Corporation △ 2nd Mayor of Sejong Special Self-Governing City △ 3rd Mayor of Sejong Special Self-Governing City