Ministry of the Interior and Safety Selects 7 Exemplary Local Governments for Proactive Administration Including Busan and Anyang, Gyeonggi

High Evaluation for Proactive Administration Reflecting Local Government Characteristics and Resolving Resident Complaints

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety held a nationwide meeting of proactive administration officers from cities and provinces and announced on the 26th that it selected seven outstanding local governments by reviewing and evaluating major achievements in proactive administration this year. Among the outstanding local governments, one metropolitan local government, Busan Metropolitan City, and six basic local governments?Anyang City in Gyeonggi Province, Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province, Okcheon County in Chungbuk Province, Eumseong County in Chungbuk Province, Dongdaemun District in Seoul, and Seo District in Busan?were selected.

First, Busan Metropolitan City introduced a ‘vehicle turnaround system’ through proactive administration to secure a safe passage for daycare centers, receiving great response from residents. Although there were continuous complaints requesting a safe commuting route for ‘workplace daycare centers,’ which have narrow parking lots and are located along industrial complex main roads with a high risk of accidents during boarding and alighting, it was difficult to solve the problem because expanding the parking lot or occupying nearby neighborhood park off-street parking lots was not allowed according to laws and regulations. Busan Metropolitan City, through proactive administration, established a mobile (drive-thru) ‘vehicle turnaround system’ in March 2022 and received a plaque of appreciation from resident companies.

Anyang City in Gyeonggi Province attracted attention by introducing an ‘Information Pattern (QR Code) Voter List Verification Service’ that allows voters to directly check the polling station and registration number, drastically reducing voting waiting times. Anyang City introduced the information pattern verification service to improve the inconvenience of manually viewing the voter list for voter verification.

Goyang City in Gyeonggi Province faced a situation where a company transitioning to a mid-sized enterprise in April needed to expand its site due to lack of business space, but after receiving opposition from a nearby elementary school and notification that expansion was not allowed under the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act and the Industrial Cluster Act, the company planned to relocate to another city or county. In response, the responsible public official, considering the economic impact of the company’s relocation on the local economy, supported obtaining expansion approval before the transition to a mid-sized enterprise by querying higher authorities about exceptions to the laws that prohibit expansion and matters not specified in the laws, gaining favorable responses and receiving positive feedback from local residents.

Okcheon County in Chungbuk Province improved the system to allow issuance of confirmation certificates for shares or parcels of jointly owned land without objections from co-owners to protect the property rights of residents. Eumseong County in Chungbuk Province received much praise from parents by being the first in the nation to introduce electric vehicles for food delivery trucks (10 units of 1-ton electric cargo trucks).

Additionally, 231-5 Yongdu-dong, Dongdaemun District, Seoul, and eight other parcels are jointly owned by 114 people, causing frequent property disputes and development limitations. However, through proactive administration by responsible officials this year?including interdepartmental collaboration, locating owners through nearby residents, on-site briefing sessions, and establishing consultation desks?the cadastral records were organized for the first time in about 50 years, earning plaques of appreciation from the owners.

Seo District in Busan planned to install a vertical elevator at ‘Somang Staircase’ in Dongdaeshin 2-dong, which has a steep slope making walking difficult, but installation was deemed difficult due to safety concerns such as cracks in nearby old houses during construction. In response, the responsible public official proposed installing Korea’s first suspended single-track railway (monorail) to alleviate residents’ inconvenience, and by implementing this through proactive administration, they reduced costs, resolved walking difficulties, and transformed the area into a new tourist attraction.

Meanwhile, at the ‘City and Province Proactive Administration Officers Meeting,’ held alongside the awards ceremony for outstanding cases, future plans to support and strengthen proactive administration will also be discussed. The major proactive administration promotion plans to be discussed include ▲expanding litigation support to retired public officials ▲operating a protection system for exemption from liability ▲introducing resident inspection (monitoring) teams ▲strengthening selection, reward, and evaluation of outstanding public officials.

Choi Hoon, Director of the Local Autonomy and Decentralization Office at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, “I believe that not only the cases of institutions selected as outstanding local governments but also many public officials working quietly and invisibly for the public interest exist in each local government. We will strengthen the system so that public officials who actively work on the ground receive sufficient rewards and strong protection, establish a culture of proactive public service down to frontline local governments, and actively strive to ensure that citizens do not suffer from various problems caused by unreasonable regulations.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.