Youth-Led Policy Development and Proposal to Government: Launch of the 'Youth Special Assembly'

Launch Ceremony Held at Jeongdong 1928 Art Hall in Seoul
This Year's Policy Theme is 'Protection', Discovering Related Policies
Final Approval at September Plenary Session to Propose to Government

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Jinju] The Youth Special Assembly, a forum where adolescents themselves discover youth policies and propose them to the government, will start its activities this year under the theme of 'Protection.'

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family announced that it held the launch ceremony of the '2022 Youth Special Assembly' at Jeongdong 1928 Art Hall in Seoul and began its activities.

The Youth Special Assembly has been operating since 2005 and is composed of about 500 members, including youth representatives from 17 city and provincial youth participation committees and youths selected from central government ministries.

At the launch ceremony, youth committee members will receive their appointment certificates and discuss the annual activity plan. Youth members from the previous year will attend to share the achievements of their policy proposals, their experiences and the significance of the Youth Special Assembly, and to encourage future activities.

This year's policy theme for the Youth Special Assembly is 'Protection.' It was finally selected through meetings with youths and experts and voting by youth committee members nationwide. Over the course of one year, regular discussions and activities will be held to discover related policies, and the final policy tasks will be confirmed at the plenary session in September and proposed to the government.

Mr. Yoon Seonjae, elected as the chairperson, said, "I will serve as the chairperson of the Youth Special Assembly, hoping for a Republic of Korea where all youths can grow up in a healthy environment without any marginalized youths."

Last year, the Youth Special Assembly proposed 30 tasks, of which 28 were reflected in government policies. Over 17 years, out of a total of 583 tasks, 521 (89.4%) have been incorporated into government policies.

In 2016, they proposed adding transportation card and prepaid payment functions to the youth ID card, which was implemented in 2017. In 2019, they proposed expanding free meal support for out-of-school youths, which led to the nationwide expansion of free meal support areas.

The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family operates various youth participation systems such as the 'Republic of Korea Youth Roundtable' and the 'Youth Online Policy Proposal Contest' to enable more youths to participate in the policy process, and plans to share the proposed policies with the Youth Special Assembly.

Minister Kim Hyun-sook of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family stated, "The Ministry will actively support and establish various social participation foundations so that youths can actively express their opinions and participate autonomously."