Gwangju Namgu to Restructure 'Similar and Overlapping' Committees for Budget Savings

Exterior view of Gwangju Namgu District Office.

On May 27, Gwangju Namgu District announced that it will conduct a comprehensive reorganization of committees that are not fulfilling their intended roles by November, aiming to improve operational efficiency and reduce budget expenditures.

Currently, the district office operates 110 committees. Of these, 82 are based on statutory requirements, while 28 are established under autonomous regulations such as ordinances and directives. There are also as many as 855 appointed committee members serving in these roles.

The main reasons for this overhaul are persistent criticisms regarding the existence of many committees with overlapping or similar functions, as well as ongoing concerns about wasted administrative resources and budget.

Accordingly, the district plans to merge committees with similar or overlapping functions, and to abolish or convert to non-standing status those committees that have shown minimal activity over an extended period.

In addition, in accordance with the "Ordinance on the Composition and Operation of Various Committees in Namgu," which limits the appointment of the same individual to no more than four committees, the district will also address and rectify cases of overlapping appointments that have been identified in certain committees.

Ensuring gender balance among committee members is also a key focus of the reorganization. Currently, there are 39 committees where members of a particular gender exceed 60 percent. Moving forward, the district intends to strengthen selection criteria to promote gender diversity in appointments and achieve a more balanced gender composition.

Furthermore, to enhance transparency and public trust in committee operations, the district will increase residents' right to know and access to information by publishing meeting results and related details on the district office website.

A district official stated, "We have made significant efforts to strengthen the effectiveness of committee operations, including converting two committees with low agenda activity last year to non-standing status. We will continue to conduct comprehensive reviews of the necessity and operational performance of each committee by department and carry out independent reorganization."