Andong-si, 'The Flower of Resident Autonomy', Resident General Assembly ... Directly Creating Our Neighborhood Projects!

Andong City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gwiyeol] Andong City in Gyeongbuk Province is promoting a total of 8 projects selected through resident general meetings in 5 neighborhoods last year to establish the Andong-type resident autonomy model.

The resident general meeting is a process called the "flower of resident autonomy," where a certain number of residents gather to vote on village projects discovered by the residents themselves, prioritizing the projects needed for the village.

Despite the COVID-19 situation last year, a total of 4,423 residents participated, demonstrating the undiminished passion for autonomous activities and the residents' will to directly decide on village projects.

This was the result of autonomy committee members actively working on the ground by operating mobile polling stations and providing non-face-to-face online voting functions to enable more residents to participate in the decision-making process.

By region, the neighborhoods with the highest resident general meeting participation rates relative to population were Pyeonghwa-dong (20.7%) and Gangnam-dong (15.8%), with Gangnam-dong having the highest number of participants among the five neighborhoods, with 1,661 residents participating.

The 8 projects selected through the resident general meetings are ▲Exploration of modern and contemporary historical sites in the village (Pyeonghwa-dong) ▲A walk around the neighborhood with cultural assets and mailbox replacement project for vulnerable groups (Angi-dong) ▲Small park concerts, flea markets, and seasonal flower exhibitions (Ok-dong) ▲‘Clean! Making Songha’ environmental cleanup campaign (Songha-dong) ▲Children’s sports classes and family experiential learning cultural asset tours (Gangnam-dong), and Andong City has secured a total project budget of 68 million KRW to support residents in directly executing the projects they selected.

An official from Andong City said, “We will strive to establish the resident general meeting as a forum for public opinion among residents that can realize grassroots democracy as the years go by.”