Four Basic Council Members from Gwangju Seo-gu Gap Region Draw Attention with Manifesto Awards

Jeonseung-il, O Miseop, Im Seonghwa, and Kim Hyeongmi

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Four members of the Gwangju Seo-gu Basic Council from the Seo-gu Gap district have attracted attention by winning the ‘15th Local Council Members’ Promise Awards’ hosted by the Korea Manifesto Practice Headquarters.

Among 226 basic councils nationwide, Seo-gu Council produced five awardees, earning the honor of the highest number of recipients in the country for the first time, with four of the five being from the Seo-gu Gap district. The other recipient is Councilor Baek Jong-han from the Seo-gu Eul district.

According to the Gwangju Metropolitan City Seo-gu Council on the 21st, councilors Jeon Seung-il, Oh Mi-seop, Lim Seong-hwa, and Kim Hyeong-mi, based in the Seo-gu Gap district, were selected as recipients of the ‘15th Local Council Members Manifesto Promise Awards.’

Among them, except for Councilor Jeon Seung-il, the other three are first-term councilors who entered the council for the first time during the 2022 8th Nationwide Simultaneous Local Elections and achieved remarkable results within just one and a half years.

The Manifesto Promise Awards are given annually to local council members nationwide, totaling 3,860 members, divided into the categories of ‘pledge fulfillment’ and ‘good ordinances’ to strengthen local council capabilities and build trust with residents.

Given that all local council members nationwide participate, winning the award is not only difficult but also regarded as a prestigious and honorable accolade.

In particular, Seo-gu Council has made headlines nationwide as the most effective basic council by having five members win the award for the first time in history, an award that is usually difficult to receive even by a single member in a region.

Councilor Jeon Seung-il guaranteed the mobility and filtering rights of vulnerable groups such as the elderly and disabled by introducing the nation’s first ‘Seo-gu Ordinance on Shared Use of Vehicles Equipped with Wheelchair Boarding Facilities for Mobility-Impaired Persons in Seo-gu.’

Councilor Oh Mi-seop established the ‘Seo-gu Ordinance on Insurance Enrollment and Support for Electric Mobility Devices for the Disabled and Elderly’ to provide a legal basis for insurance enrollment and premium support to prepare for accidents occurring during the operation of electric wheelchairs or electric scooters used by socially vulnerable groups such as the disabled and elderly.

Councilor Lim Seong-hwa enacted the ‘Seo-gu Ordinance to Support the Resolution of Child Housing Poverty,’ the first of its kind among basic local governments nationwide, presenting a new Gwangju Seo-gu type housing standard suitable for a child-friendly city. She was honored with the grand prize for laying the foundation to provide a comfortable and stable housing environment for children living in housing poverty.

Councilor Kim Hyeong-mi was selected as a recipient in the ‘Good Ordinance’ category by establishing the ‘Seo-gu Council Policy Advisory Group Operation Ordinance,’ which provides a legal basis for forming and operating subcommittees with private experts in construction, culture, economy, and more. Especially, she devoted herself to discovering effective policies and proposing alternatives by forming the ‘Safety Construction TF,’ which has become more emphasized following the collapse accident at I-Park in Hwajeong-dong, Seo-gu, Gwangju.

Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Shin Dong-ho yjm3070@asiae.co.kr