Hwaseong Special City Holds 'Citizen Cooperation Collaborative Planning Group Meeting' with Resident Participation

Hwaseong Special City (Mayor Jung Myung-geun) held a 'Hwaseong City Citizen Cooperation Collaborative Planning Group Meeting' on the 26th at the Jachi Nuri Hall of the Bongdam-eup Community Center, where it exchanged various opinions with civil society activists on establishing a citizen cooperation system.

This meeting was organized to explore a new cooperation system in which citizens directly participate from policy planning to implementation and through which diverse experiences from civil society and on-site expertise can be reflected in policies.

The meeting was attended by about 20 civil society activists, including Director Kang Seok-chan of the Hwaseong Citizens Renewable Energy Development Cooperative and Standing Representative Oh Se-uk of the Hwaseong Democratic Civic Education Network.

Since June, the city has discussed the direction of cooperation suitable for Hwaseong Special City and specific implementation plans together with civil society and experts based on 'Citizen Cooperation <Together> Realizing Everyone's Values.'

Based on opinions from this meeting, the city plans to institutionalize citizen cooperation and establish a foundation for active participation by civil society. In particular, it will specify the cooperation system so that the experience and on-site expertise of civil society organizations that have conducted public interest activities in various fields can be substantially reflected in policy planning and implementation.

Mayor Jung Myung-geun of Hwaseong Special City said, "We will not merely listen to citizens' voices, but create a new cooperation model unique to Hwaseong Special City where citizens' voices lead to policies and administration and civil society work together to ask questions, discuss, and find solutions," and added, "We will establish institutional foundations through installing a dedicated administrative organization and enacting related ordinances so that cooperation can operate substantially and not remain merely a declaration or one-time opinion gathering."