Action plan – Gwangju, Republic of Korea, 2021 – 2022

At-a-Glance

Duration

Jun 2022

Date Submitted

30th July 2021

Foreword(s)

Gwangju City regards innovation, communication, and integrity as its municipal values, and respects the principles and values ​​of the OGP and is making efforts to put them into practice. These efforts include promoting transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More in municipal administration, expanding citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More, and preventing corruption. By newly participating as an OGP member city and establishing the first action plan through public-private cooperation, Gwangju City has renewed its strong commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... to realizing participatory democracy.

A citizens’ survey and the citizen consultation process have been conducted to reflect short-term policy improvement and mid- to long-term achievement goals desired by ordinary citizens in the action plan, with the goal of implementing a transparent, open government led by citizens. In particular, in order to promote citizens’ participation and cooperation, and to restore trust in the government, efforts have been made to create the action plan with civil society in general by referring to the OGP Participation and Co-creation StandardsCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders is at the heart of the OGP process. The Participation and Co-Creation Standards are intended to support this collaboration throug.... In May 2021, the OGP Public-Private consultative body was formed, and the first action plan was completed through iterative dialogue on the strategic vision of the open government and the selection of commitments. Based on a cooperative relationship with civil society and strengthened through the process of co-creation of the OGP action plan, progress on the fulfillment of the commitments will continue to be checked, and it is expected that Gwangju City will be taking a step forward towards a citizen-centered open government.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

This subsection details the Open Government Strategic Vision in your local area that should guide the commitments for the action plan period.

What is the long-term vision for open government in your context and jurisdiction?

Gwangju City intends to create a citizen-centered and transparent government through open government participation, and its long-term vision is as follows.

◦ Righteous Gwangju

Gwangju will be realized as a local community where everyone can live in harmony  while sharing the struggle for justiceTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi... and democracy in Gwangju history with the world and creating a human rightsAn essential part of open government includes protecting the sacred freedoms and rights of all citizens, including the most vulnerable groups, and holding those who violate human rights accountable. T... city where all citizens of Gwangju are equally respected.

◦ Warm-Hearted Welfare Gwangju

Establish a warm-hearted and well-constructed welfare safety net for the socially underprivileged and the poor, a pleasant Gwangju community for all citizens without exclusion or discrimination

◦ Safe and Comfortable Gwangju

Establish the safest and most comfortable city in the country, where citizens can feel safe by creating a pleasant environment along with the establishment of a traffic environment and disaster prevention system that responds to the needs of the future.

◦ An Innovative Gwangju that Changes and Challenges through Citizens’ Participation

By restructuring the entire municipal administration from the perspective of innovation, sustainable municipal innovation is promoted and field-oriented administrative communication with citizens is implemented.

Through this action plan, Gwangju city will concentrate on creating a safe city where the citizens are comfortable and an innovative city that changes and challenges through citizens’ participation.

What are the achievements in open government to date (for example, recent open government reforms)?

◦ Resolving important regional issues through public-private cooperative decision-making

Gwangju City has achieved results in solving a number of pending issues by adopting the public opinion method, including public debate, on key issues that have been left unattended for a long time or for which policy decisions are not easy. Gwangju City’s public-private cooperative administration is establishing itself as an efficient and democratic model for determining major policies. The main examples of this cooperation are as follows:

– Public Deliberation on Gwangju Subway Line 2, Gwangju-type jobs through a grand compromise between laborTransparent workforce data and increased representation of workers in labor policy-making lead to policies that better protect workers’ rights and remove barriers for underrepresented groups in the ..., management, and civil government, Managing public-private governance for privately initiated park development, Designating Jangnok Wetland as a national wetland, etc.

◦ Launching the citizen-centered Carbon-Neutral City Promotion Committee

In February 2021, Gwangju Metropolitan City launched the Carbon-Neutral Promotion Committee, which involves the city council, the Office of EducationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ..., the Chamber of Commerce, and civic groups to meet the demands of civil society urging a policy shift to respond to the climate crisis and to secure new growth engines in the post-COVID-19 era. The Committee, launched to promote the citizen-centered Green New Deal policy through solidarity and cooperation with civil society, is the highest decision-making body for promoting Gwangju as a citizen-led carbon-neutral energy-independent city.

What are the current challenges/areas for improvement in open government that the jurisdiction wishes to tackle?

It is to prepare new growth engines for the post-COVID-19 era through civic-led policies to respond to the climate crisis. This is to meet civil society’s demand for policy change that has been ongoing since the latter part of 2019 and to overcome the worst-ever economic recession and job shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety about the future caused by climate change within civil society in Gwangju City as a whole and the demand for government response have been well expressed through the citizen consultation process and opinion gathering to establish an OGP implementation plan.

For your information, the following are the results of a survey conducted on 51 civic groups and citizens in a wide variety of fields to establish the OGP open government strategic vision. When asked about what policy areas in Gwangju needs to be improved urgently, the top 2 responses are as follows:

– the first place(30.3% of votes): expanding citizen participation in overall municipal administration and guaranteeing the effectiveness of citizen’s participation

– the second place(22.5% of votes): formation of a community safe from disasters and environmental pollution

What are the medium-term open government goals that the government wants to achieve?

We surveyed the mid-term open government goals with 51 civic groups and citizens.  They were allowed to choose two answers, and we received a total of 89 votes.

– 33 votes(37% ):  Improve public integrity through information disclosure, freedom of speech, and anti-corruption.

– 21 votes(23.6%): Secure the effectiveness of citizen participation in municipal management.

Accordingly, Gwangju city has set to the mid-term goal of the open government to realize “Transparent government Communicating with its people” by focusing on improving public integrity and expanding civic participation.

◦ Transparent and Clean Government

Policies and information are transparently disclosed to citizens, and information and documents requested by citizens are provided in a form that citizens can easily utilize. Data is established and designed on the premise of disclosure to overcome the data limitations designed to achieve initial internal administrative purposes.

◦ Communicative and Participatory Government

Provide a way for citizens who want to participate in improving their living conditions. Through the continuous participation of citizens, the government and citizens jointly create and acquire public value. As a platform, the government provides public goods and infrastructure. The government provides data openness and tools for creating common value ​​with citizens and a system for public innovation.

How does this action plan contribute to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision?

By focusing on two commitments through the action plan, the city wants to contribute to the realization of Gwangju as an innovative city that changes and challenges through citizen participation and provides citizen safety and comfort through response to the climate change.

The first commitment is to expand the participation of the general public in the Carbon-Neutral City Promotion Committee, which initiative launched to respond to the citizen-led climate change action movement and promote the Green New Deal policy. We will preemptively conduct education and publicity on climate crisis response policies and practices to encourage policy participation of inactive citizens. Then we will carry out policy feedback activities by public opinion polls every five months. In the end, the result will be reflected in the policy-making process through the Carbon-Neutral Promotion Committee.

The second commitment is to build an integrated platform for data disclosure on energy use. Building an integrated platform has been continuously requested by civic activists in the course of the climate change response campaign. In order to construct a platform that is convenient for citizens to use, it will be promoted after consultation with the Climate Crisis Emergency Headquarters, a working group belonging to the Carbon-Neutral City Promotion Committee.

How does the open government strategic vision contribute to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals?

The open government strategic vision contributes to the achievement of the current government’s policy goals to create a safe city from climate change disasters and to overcome the worst economic recession and job shock with green growth caused by COVID-19.

In July 2021, the Korean government announced the Korean version of the Green New Deal policy to respond to climate change and achieve energy security and sustainable growth with the goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2050. In the same month, Gwangju City announced a Gwangju-type Green New Deal policy with the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral city by 2045, declaring major transformation through green growth. This is an ambitious plan to achieve carbon neutrality five years ahead of the government’s plan 2050 to become carbon-neutral, and interest and participation by the 1.5 million Gwangju citizens are essential to achieve this goal.

For this purpose, Gwangju City launched in February 2021 the Carbon-Neutral City Promotion Committee, a public-private governance body, which will contribute to the realization of the 2045 carbon-neutral city goal, the core policy of the 7th public election, by expanding the participation of general citizens through the open government strategic vision and the release energy data.

Engagement and Coordination in the Open Government Strategic Vision and OGP Action Plan

Please list the lead institutions responsible for the implementation of this OGP action plan.

• Gwangju Metropolitan City Innovation & Communication Planning Division
• Gwangju Metropolitan City Energy Industry Division

What kind of institutional arrangements are in place to coordinate between government agencies and departments to implement the OGP action plan?

Coordination between government agencies and departments for action plans is possible through the OGP Public-Private Council. In particular, in order to secure the power of the implementation of the action plan centered on the response to the climate crisis, it is connected with the Climate Crisis Emergency Headquarters and climate crisis emergency actions. They are the main organizations of the Carbon-Neutral City Promotion Committee, which consists of the mayor, head of city council, head of city districts, and representatives of civil society. Policy improvements made through the action plan will be delivered and implemented to the department through the Carbon-Neutral Promotion Committee composed of the Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs.

What kind of spaces have you used or created to enable the collaboration between government and civil society in the co-creation and implementation of this action plan? Mention both offline and online spaces.

The following groups have been created for co-creation, coordination, and implementation of the action plan.
◦ OGP consultative body (Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru...): It was formed in connection with the city’s public-private governance to promote a carbon-neutral city so that citizens’ opinions and policy demands can be reflected in the city’s climate crisis response policyThe Response Policy is used when an OGP participating country appears to be taking actions that undermine the values and principles of OGP, as articulated in the Open Government Declaration, in a way .... The implementation of the action plan was intended to enhance synergy effects, focusing on members of civil organizations who are active in major organizations, such as the Climate Crisis Emergency Headquarters and climate crisis emergency action office, which make up the public-private governance.
◦ OGP consultative body (Working Group): Space where anyone can participate, centering on private members. As a practical organization for implementing the action plan, it discovers civic policy proposals and activities to raise civic awareness.
◦ SNS: KakaoTalk was used to create an active and free communication space for the Management Committee and Working Group. In particular, it facilitated the process of joint storage of the action plan by enabling prompt delivery and discussion of agenda items that require the collection of opinions.

What measures did you take to ensure diversity of representation (including vulnerable or marginalized populations) in these spaces?

◦ The open citizen consultation: the proposals from Gwangju citizens were received through the OGP webpage so that anyone could easily participate.
◦ Survey: Opinions on the open government strategic plan were gather in a survey conducted on 51 people, including representatives of social groups and citizens in all fields. Through a simple and easy survey, the participation rate of citizens was increased and the participants of the survey were diverse by field to strengthen the breadth of items included in the plan. In particular, it collected opinions from various classes, including women, the disabled, and representatives and workers of facilities related to the elderly.

Who participated in these spaces?

◦ The open citizen consultation (3): 2 civil society organizations, 1 public institution.

◦ OGP consultative body meetings (4): 1 expert, 3 civil groups

◦ Citizen opinions poll (51): 6 general citizens, 3 educational institutions, 42 social organizations

◦ Establishment of the action plan: 3 relevant departments, civil organizations

How many groups participated in these spaces?

50

How many public-facing meetings were held in the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive...?

5

How will government and non-governmental stakeholders continue to collaborate through the implementation of the action plan?

OGP consultative body meetings will be held regularly  to review progress. In particular, if there is a lack of commitment in preparation for the plan, the cause will be analyzed to encourage prompt implementation, or if it is difficult to implement, the plan will be adjusted through consultation.

Please describe the independent Monitoring Body you have identified for this plan.

A new monitoring body has been created through OGP consultative body discussions. KIM Young-sun, vice president of the Hanbaek Ecological Research Institute, and YEOM Cheol-hun, a coordinator at the Gwangju Council for Sustainable Development, who is very knowledgeable about open government and Gwangju municipal affairs, have become part of a monitoring group to ensure stable monitoring.

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• KIM Yeong-seon, Assistant Director / Hanbaek Ecological Research Institute, 0sunsky@hanmail.net
• YEOM Cheol-hun, YEOM Cheol-hun, k5237708@naver.com

What types of activities will you have in place to discuss progress on commitments with stakeholders?

Gwangju government POC plans to periodically submit related data and review progress. If a separate confirmation is required as a result of a review, we will hold face-to-face interviews and meetings with stakeholders and plan an in-depth evaluation of the implementation of the action plan.

How will you regularly check in on progress with implementing agencies?

Gwangju government POC plans to submit related data regularly and, if necessary, we will ask to hand in additional related data or have an inspection through an interview with the person in charge.

How will you share the results of your monitoring efforts with the public?

It will be posted on the OGP webpage and on SNS so that anyone can find it easily, and important evaluation and inspection results will be shared with citizens through press releases.

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• KIM Gwanghun, General Secretary, Gwangju Eco-Bike
• LEE Min-cheol, CEO, Gwangju Madang
• PARK Min-hee, Team Leader, Public Transportation Civic Group
• LIM Hye-jeong, Executive Secretary, Climate Action Vegan Network
• LIM Suyeon SHIN Seok-gi, General Secretary, Citizen Life Environment Conference
• SHIN Seok-gi, Head of Department, Local Sustainability Alliance of Gwangju
• PARK Phil-sun, Head of Department, Social Change Platform of Gwangju
• LEE Un-gi, Director, Gwangju YMCA
• SEO Seung-ho, Project Manager, International Climate and Environment Center

Ask the Citizen – OGP Citizen’s Proposal Agenda