Uijeongbu-si Begins Preparatory Meeting for Citizen Forum on 'Reserve Forces Training Center Relocation'

Mayor Kim Dong-geun is taking a commemorative photo together after appointing members of the citizen public forum preparation meeting for selecting the site for relocating the reserve forces training center in Howon-dong.

Uijeongbu City in Gyeonggi Province announced on the 24th that it has begun preparatory meetings ahead of promoting a 'citizen deliberation forum' to select the relocation site for the reserve forces training center in Howon-dong.

Earlier, the city stated in August that the relocation site for the reserve forces training center would be decided through a citizen deliberation forum involving democratic participation and thorough deliberation by citizens.

To this end, a preparatory meeting for the citizen deliberation forum was recently formed, appointing local resident representatives, civil society members, experts, and observers as committee members. Over the next month, a total of four preparatory meetings will be held to promote the citizen deliberation forum.

At the first meeting on the 20th, the appointed committee members were briefed on the procedures for promoting the citizen deliberation forum and the role of the preparatory meetings. From the second meeting onward, discussions will focus on the working group's research results, understanding the local situation, and support measures for the selected areas to review the promotion of the citizen deliberation forum.

At this meeting, Mayor Kim Dong-geun said, "I sincerely thank everyone participating in the preparatory meetings for selecting the relocation site of the reserve forces training center, which is a truly important decision for Uijeongbu City," and emphasized, "It is a crucial task to understand and respect the complex and diverse interests to manage and resolve conflicts well in order to gain acceptance of administrative decisions."

He added, "Over the past two years, we have adhered to the principle of relocating outside the city and through continuous consultations, secured significant concessions from the Ministry of National Defense, including the reduction of the reserve forces training center. While it may be difficult to satisfy all citizens, we decided to find a consensus through the deliberation forum and select the relocation site," and urged, "Please prepare so that a reasonable decision that many citizens can sympathize with can be made through deep consideration."

Park Tae-soon, the representative of the deliberation forum (Standing Representative of the Korea Deliberation Forum), promised transparent and fair promotion of the citizen deliberation forum, stating, "We will strictly adhere to the fundamental principles of 'support but do not interfere' and 'guarantee autonomy in the composition and operation of the deliberation forum.'"

A city official said regarding recent controversies centered on some areas, "We plan to transparently disclose all materials in the citizen deliberation forum preparatory meetings for verification."

In particular, addressing concerns that the citizen deliberation forum might incite conflicts among citizens and shift responsibility onto them, the official explained, "Since the previous relocation site for the reserve forces training center was decided without communication and was canceled due to citizen opposition, this time the relocation site will be decided through citizen consensus," and clarified, "The citizen deliberation forum compiles citizens' opinions and submits recommendations to the mayor, and the final decision authority will ultimately rest with the mayor."

The city will prepare the citizen deliberation forum through preparatory meetings until October. In mid-October, it plans to form an operating committee for the citizen deliberation forum, decide on operational policies, encourage voluntary citizen participation, and operate the forum from November through December.