Geochang-gun, Operation of Resident Participation Budget System ... Additional Recruitment of Youth Committee Members

Implementation of Resident Participation Budget Projects Worth 1.6 Billion KRW in 3 Sectors

Geochang County Office.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] Geochang-gun, Gyeongnam Province, has been conducting an open recruitment for resident participation budget projects and youth committee members since the 1st of this month to incorporate regional diversity and representation in policy participation.

The resident participation budget project contest that Geochang-gun is promoting this year has a total scale of 1.6 billion KRW, divided into three categories: ▲Resident-led contest projects 500 million KRW ▲Youth and young adult-led participation projects 500 million KRW ▲Region-led autonomous projects 600 million KRW, running until June 24.

In addition to the resident-led contest projects, the county separately implements youth and young adult participation projects to encourage policy participation from future generations and to discover unique local policies. The contest scale is also proposed within 100 million KRW for general projects and within 30 million KRW for event-type projects, similar to the resident-led contest projects.

The region-led autonomous projects have been allocated a total contest amount of 50 million KRW per each eup and myeon (township), and projects are proposed by local councils such as resident autonomy committees in each eup and myeon to ensure the discovery of diverse projects reflecting regional characteristics.

Projects proposed through this contest will be finalized after deliberation by the relevant departments, concretization of the projects, and review by the Resident Participation Budget Committee. Once confirmed by the county council’s budget approval in December, they will be implemented in 2023.

Geochang-gun also announced that it will recruit one additional youth member for the Resident Participation Budget Committee.

There have been opinions from the county council and local residents about appointing diverse committee members who can represent all age groups in the Resident Participation Budget Committee. Last year, young adults were recruited to hear the voices of the younger generation, and this year, youth members will be additionally appointed as committee members.

County Governor Goo In-mo said, “It is essential to ensure equal opportunities for practical participation of residents in the budget and balanced policy decisions accordingly,” adding, “We hope for active participation and interest from all residents in this committee recruitment and project contest.”