From October, Survey on Policy Project Names of Affiliated Organizations Related to Korean Language through External Professional Institutions
Pre-review by External Experts via the 'Korean Language Correct Usage Committee' When Deciding Policy Project Names
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul City announced on the 7th that it will launch a survey starting in October on the actual conditions of policy project names of Seoul City and its affiliated organizations to discourage the excessive use of foreign languages and promote the proper use of public language. The pre-review process will also be strengthened by involving external experts when deciding policy project names.
The survey on policy project names will focus on whether the names are easily understandable from the citizens' perspective and whether indiscriminate use of foreign languages makes it difficult for certain groups to understand. The survey will be conducted through an external research institute composed of Korean language experts until December.
Seoul City plans to regularize the survey on policy project names annually starting this year and submit the expressions identified for refinement in the survey to the ‘Korean Language Proper Use Committee’ to find and review alternatives that comply with language regulations and meet citizens' expectations. The ‘Korean Language Proper Use Committee’ is composed of 10 Korean language experts from academia, media, and research institutions, and operates based on the Seoul City Korean Language Use Ordinance.
The review results will be communicated to the relevant institutions or departments with recommendations to improve the policy project names. The implementation of these recommendations will be evaluated later and the results shared citywide through the administrative network. Improvement cases will be shared with all Seoul City and investment/affiliated institutions to ensure proper public language is used from the policy development stage when naming projects, and employee training using actual cases will be strengthened.
Additionally, the pre-consultation process for deciding policy project names will be reinforced by involving external experts to operate more substantively.
Going forward, Seoul City departments and affiliated organizations must submit candidate policy project names to the Seoul City Korean Language Officer (Public Relations Officer) before announcing major policy project names. These will be submitted as agenda items for review by the ‘Korean Language Proper Use Committee’ to receive pre-review on the appropriateness of Korean language use and the excessive use of foreign languages by external experts.
In a similar spirit, Seoul City strengthened the pre-review process for the proper use of public language in promotional materials of Seoul City and its affiliated organizations from internal review to external expert review in May, and reviewed 46 promotional materials by September. Expressions replaced through the pre-review of promotional materials include Green Network → Ecological Conservation Area/Green Connection Network/Green Belt, Local Food → Regional Food/Traditional Food, Busking → Street Performance, Live Commerce Day → Real-time Sales Broadcast Day, Next Day → The Following Day, etc. Incorrect spacing and punctuation were also corrected.
Seoul City has been striving to realize the goals of improving public language, enhancing the Korean language use environment, and preserving the Korean language heritage through the Seoul City Korean Language Use Ordinance enacted in July 2014 and the Seoul City Basic Plan for Korean Language Development established every five years. This year, Seoul City inspected the Korean language use status of 49 press releases (7 per month) distributed by the city and its affiliated organizations and shared casebooks quarterly to encourage employees to use proper public language.
Seoul City plans to continue actively guiding employees on the principles of proper official document writing according to the Basic Korean Language Act and to implement policies encouraging the proper use of the Korean language for both internal employees and citizens in cooperation with various related organizations such as the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the National Institute of the Korean Language, and the Korean Language Culture Center.
Choi Won-seok, Seoul City Public Relations Planning Officer, said, “It is true that Seoul City has been criticized by the media for using unnecessary foreign words in some policy project names. On the occasion of Hangul Day, we will reflect on whether there have been cases of excessive foreign language use in official documents or policy project names, strengthen self-inspection and pre-review procedures, and take the lead in properly using and preserving Hangul, our country's proud cultural heritage.”
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