"Suwon-style Residents' Autonomy Committee" Requires Education and Communication for Citizen Participation

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kang Han-seo] Opinions were raised that substantive citizen participation in the operation of the "Suwon-style Residents' Autonomy Committee" requires capacity-building education for committee members and active communication.

At the "Second Suwon-style Residents' Autonomy Committee Forum" held by the city on the 27th in the city hall conference room, Lee Chul-seung, member of the Culture and Welfare Committee of the Suwon City Council, emphasized, "For the Suwon-style Residents' Autonomy Committee to firmly establish itself as a 'representatives' body,' substantive participation by residents, not merely formal participation, is desperately needed."

He continued, "Substantive citizen participation can be achieved through sufficient discussion, communication, and learning," and added, "Capacity-building education should be conducted so that residents' autonomy committee members do not depend on civil servants during operations, and support should be provided for active communication with residents, the city council, and administrative agencies."

This forum, held under the theme "Discussing Our Neighborhood Residents' Autonomy," proceeded with presentations of residents' autonomy committee success cases and discussions on the direction of residents' autonomy committee operations.

The forum was chaired by Yoo Moon-jong, operating chairman of the Gyeonggi Province Sustainable Development Council, with participation from Han Chang-seok, chairman of the Suwon Residents' Autonomy Committee Presidents Council, Park Sang-woo, director of the Urban Management Research Division at the Suwon Research Institute, Lee Chul-seung, member of the Culture and Welfare Committee of the Suwon City Council, and Song Moon-sik, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Government Regional Governance Policy Advisory Group.

The Suwon-style Residents' Autonomy Committee integrates the functions of "community building" and "welfare" into the resident autonomy functions of the existing Residents' Autonomy Committee previously operated by Suwon City. Last year, the city piloted the residents' autonomy committee in 3 districts, and this year expanded it to 8 districts. From 2021 onwards, it is planned to be implemented in all districts.

Yoo Moon-jong, operating chairman of the Gyeonggi Province Sustainable Development Council, emphasized, "For the Suwon-style Residents' Autonomy Committee to become a residents' representative body, no one should be excluded from the community, including multicultural residents, foreign residents, youth, and the elderly."

Han Chang-seok, chairman of the Suwon Residents' Autonomy Committee Presidents Council, stated, "Residents' autonomy is about distributing the 'authority' of Suwon City and the mayor to residents," and added, "We will work together with residents, the city council, and administrative agencies to ensure that the 'Residents' Autonomy Committee' successfully establishes itself and promotes citizen participation."

Kim Gwang-soo, team leader of Suwon City's Residents' Autonomy Division, stated, "Suwon City plans to review the various opinions raised in this forum and actively reflect them in residents' autonomy committee projects," and promised, "We will continue to listen carefully to residents' opinions in the future."

At this forum, the residents' autonomy committees of Songduk-dong and Haengung-dong in Suwon, and Dangiin City presented residents' autonomy success cases. Songduk-dong and Haengung-dong were respectively selected as "residents' autonomy committee success cases" in 2018 and 2016, and received commendations from the Minister of the Interior and Safety.