Uiseong County Wins Youth-Friendly Governance Award for Third Consecutive Year

Youth-Designed Policies
Nationwide Recognition for Achievements in Communication

Uiseong County in North Gyeongsang Province received the Communication Award at the '2025 8th Youth-Friendly Governance Award' ceremony held in the main conference hall of the National Assembly Members' Office Building on September 13, 2025.

Jusoo Kim, Uiseong County Governor (fifth from the left), is taking a commemorative photo with officials who received the Youth-Friendly Governance Award and the Uiseong County Communication Award.

With this achievement, Uiseong County has now won the Grand Prize in 2023, the Policy Award in 2024, and the Communication Award in 2025, becoming the only municipality in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region to win for three consecutive years.

The 'Youth-Friendly Governance Award' is the nation's most prestigious youth policy award, recognizing efforts to create youth-friendly environments and innovative policies. Its credibility is further enhanced by the direct participation of young people, who both evaluate and select the awardees.

◆ 'Policy Partnership Model' Led by Youth

Uiseong County has pursued a variety of policies to realize a 'youth-friendly city,' including operating a dedicated youth policy organization, expanding support for youth employment, entrepreneurship, and housing, revitalizing youth communities and councils, and strengthening both online and offline communication platforms.

In particular, Uiseong County established a structure in which ideas proposed through the youth policy council and youth platforms are implemented as actual policies. The county also received high praise for incorporating the creative opinions of young people throughout the administrative process.

◆ Achievements in Communication, Expanding Substantive Participation

This year's Communication Award was determined by Uiseong County's formalization of a youth opinion-gathering system and its significant expansion of youth participation from the policy design stage through to implementation and evaluation. The county focused on narrowing the gap between local government and youth by operating youth forums, policy festivals, and participation programs.

◆ "A City Where Youth Stay, Built by Uiseong"

Jusoo Kim, Governor of Uiseong County, stated, "Winning for three consecutive years proves the nationwide excellence of Uiseong County's youth policies. Going forward, we will continue open communication with young people to overcome the crisis of local extinction and make Uiseong a city where young people want to stay."

Uiseong County has developed its youth policy into a participatory model, where young people themselves design and implement policies, rather than simply receiving administrative support. This award is recognized as a case that presents a new direction for regional youth policy amid the population crisis in local areas.