Seoul City Calls for Citizen Ideas for Single-Person Households... "Incorporating into Seoul City Policies"

Established as a Major Household Type but Overlooked in Policy, Listening to Voices of 1-Person Households and Implementing Tailored Policies
Seoul City '1-Person Household Portal' Online Submission... 8 Final Winners Awarded Seoul Mayor's Prize and Cash Prize

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Ideas for one-person households in Seoul, proposed and voted on directly by citizens, will become Seoul city policies.

On the 24th, Seoul announced that it will hold the 'One-Person Household Policy Citizen Idea Contest' from the 1st to the 30th of next month. Any Seoul citizen interested in one-person households can participate. Even citizens whose actual living area (workplace, school, etc.) is in Seoul, but who do not have a registered address in Seoul, are also eligible to participate.

One out of three households in Seoul is a one-person household, making it a major household type. Nevertheless, it has been neglected in major policies so far. Therefore, Seoul aims to directly hear the voices of one-person households and discover effective customized policies to improve their quality of life.

The contest fields include major inconveniences faced by one-person households such as housing, safety, illness, poverty, and loneliness. Complex ideas can be submitted under other categories. Participants are free to describe specific and feasible policy ideas.

Citizens wishing to participate can apply online through the Seoul One-Person Household Portal. They must submit a summary briefly describing the core idea and a main text including the project overview and expected effects.

The evaluation will be conducted in two stages: the first stage by a panel of judges, and the second stage by online citizen voting. If the idea passes the first stage review by a panel composed of public officials and private experts, it will proceed to the second stage of citizen voting. The final ranking will be decided by citizen votes.

Seoul plans to complete the evaluation and voting by October and select the final winners (8 cases) by the end of October. Winners will receive the Seoul Mayor's Award along with prize money totaling 5.4 million KRW. The winning citizen ideas will be reflected in policies after consultation with relevant departments.

Lee Hae-seon, head of the Seoul One-Person Household Special Measures Promotion Team, said, “Through the citizen idea contest, we will form a social consensus on supporting one-person households and discover excellent policies to improve their quality of life.”