Ministry of the Interior and Safety Selects 13 Ideas for 'Local Public Institution Innovation National Policy Contest'

Operational Efficiency, Safety Enhancement, Regional Economic Revitalization, and Expanded Resident Participation Fields

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced on the 25th that it has selected 13 ideas as outstanding in the judging of the '2022 Local Public Institutions Innovation National Policy Contest,' conducted in four categories: operational efficiency, safety enhancement, regional economic revitalization, and expanded citizen participation.

This year's contest was held over 60 days from July 15 to September 12, receiving a total of 121 ideas (46 for operational efficiency, 31 for safety enhancement, 15 for regional economic revitalization, and 29 for expanded citizen participation). Among these, 13 ideas (2 for operational efficiency, 7 for safety enhancement, 1 for regional economic revitalization, and 3 for expanded citizen participation) were selected as award winners.

In the operational efficiency category, the idea by Won Gyu-dong, titled ‘Development of an integrated platform for citizen participation such as citizen petitions and contests,’ was selected as the grand prize winner.

In the safety enhancement category, the ideas by Na Gap-seong and Kim Kwang-il were each selected as grand prize winners for ‘Installing safety handrails in public sports facility restrooms’ and ‘Automatic conversion and storage of CCTV footage into GIF format to enhance safety measures after disaster accidents.’ In the expanded citizen participation category, Kim Joo-tae’s idea, ‘Operation of the “Our Neighborhood History Representatives” by forming a citizen delegation to participate in plans for utilizing terminals and other stations,’ won the grand prize.

In the regional economic revitalization category, the idea by Oh Jeong-sook, ‘Installing vending machines for local specialties at public-use facilities to provide citizens with convenient ordering and home delivery services,’ was awarded an encouragement prize. Additionally, four ideas, including Choi Yoon-ji’s ‘Designating shared parking spaces exclusively for single-person electric vehicles (personal mobility) by utilizing idle and narrow spaces around local public institution buildings,’ were selected as outstanding, and five ideas, including ‘Operational efficiency through advertising installation on escalator steps,’ were awarded encouragement prizes.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to incorporate and promote the winning ideas in policies so that local public corporations, local public enterprises, and local investment and funded institutions can actively utilize them.

Choi Byung-kwan, Director of the Local Finance and Economy Office, stated, “We will actively support public institutions that adopt these valuable ideas submitted to the local public institution innovation contest, which is a key initiative of the new government, by granting special benefits and reflecting the ideas in policies.”