Award ceremony
Award ceremony

Nowon-gu District Mayor Seo Jun-o received the Grand Prize at the 2026 Youth-Friendly Legislative Awards on Thursday.

The Youth-Friendly Legislative Awards, now in their ninth year, are organized by the Youth-Friendly Selection Committee of the nonprofit Youth and Future, which operates under the National Assembly Secretariat. The awards evaluate and honor local governments for their youth policies.

Nowon-gu earned the Grand Prize after receiving high marks across its youth-friendly policies overall, including the institutional foundation for youth policy, youth support projects, and policy participation and communication.

The district runs a wide range of policies covering nearly every aspect of young people's lives. These include employment and startup support, as well as operating the first youth psychological counseling center among Seoul's autonomous districts.

In particular, the district has centered its efforts on the Nowon Youth Policy Governance Center and the Nowon Youth Policy Network. Through these platforms, young people take part directly as stakeholders in policymaking and communicate with the administration. It also runs a youth participatory budgeting system through which young residents identify local issues and propose solutions themselves.

Since the launch of the ninth popularly elected local government, the district has signed an MOU with the Nowon-gu Federation of University Student Councils, representing seven local universities. The agreement further expands the foundation for policy communication and participation with college students and young people.

"This is a meaningful recognition of Nowon-gu's achievements and vision in youth policy," Seo said, adding, "We will continue to communicate at eye level with young people and further develop our policies to make Nowon a city where young people stay for the long term and take center stage."


seouldream01@heraldcorp.com