Top prize 1 million won (about $657); total purse 3.1 million won

Uiwang city, led by Mayor Kim Seong-je, is accepting submissions for its "2026 Uiwang Regulatory Reform Ideas" contest, aimed at identifying and improving unreasonable regulations and systems that burden residents' daily lives and businesses' economic activities.

Any resident, civil servant or business interested in regulatory reform may submit proposals from Thursday through June 30. Eligible topics include improvements to everyday inconveniences, removal of constraints on business operations, and rationalization of regulations in eco-friendly and emerging industries. Applications can be submitted by mail, in person or by email to the regulatory reform officer at the Policy Innovation Team of the Planning and Budget Division at city hall.

The city will first conduct a preliminary review by the relevant department to determine whether each submission qualifies as a regulatory matter and whether the proposed improvement is feasible. Qualifying entries will then go through a first-round review by a working-level screening committee and a second-round review by the Regulatory Reform Committee, which will select outstanding proposals and determine award ratings.

Judging is based on a 100-point scale. Effectiveness — including the likelihood of achieving the stated goal, applicability upon resolution and ripple effects — accounts for 40 points. Feasibility — covering the specificity, enforceability and validity of the proposal — accounts for 30 points. Creativity — encompassing the novelty of the content and the originality of the approach — accounts for the remaining 30 points. In the event of a tie, candidates will be ranked by their scores in effectiveness, feasibility and creativity, in that order.

Submissions that amount to simple complaints or petitions, proposals already adopted by other agencies, or entries with unclear content such as missing legal citations will be disqualified. The city plans to select one grand prize winner (1 million won), two excellence award winners (500,000 won each), two encouragement award winners (300,000 won each) and five merit award winners (100,000 won each). Results will be posted on the city's website in August and winners notified individually.

For further details, contact the Policy Innovation Team of the Planning and Budget Division.


pjh@heraldcorp.com