Serves as bridge linking citizens' voices to council affairs and policy

To hold policy meetings, conduct polling and identify model council achievements

"Will seek practical solutions centered on citizens, beyond factional lines"

Seoul Metropolitan Council member Oh Joong-suk (right) poses for a photo after receiving his appointment certificate as honorary chairman at the launch ceremony and first policy meeting of the Seoul Council-Press Research Council, held Thursday in the first conference room of the council members' office building at the Seoul Metropolitan Council. (Yang Jung-won)
Seoul Metropolitan Council member Oh Joong-suk (right) poses for a photo after receiving his appointment certificate as honorary chairman at the launch ceremony and first policy meeting of the Seoul Council-Press Research Council, held Thursday in the first conference room of the council members' office building at the Seoul Metropolitan Council. (Yang Jung-won)

Seoul Metropolitan Council member Oh Joong-suk (Democratic Party of Korea, Dongdaemun 2) has been named honorary chairman of the Seoul Council-Press Research Council, an organization led by Chairman Byun Jae-woon that studies major Seoul issues and works to translate citizens' voices into policy.

The council held its launch ceremony and first policy meeting Thursday in the first conference room of the council members' office building at the Seoul Metropolitan Council, where Oh received his appointment certificate as honorary chairman. The event, held that day, drew Inaugural Chairman Byun Jae-woon along with Seoul council members, journalists, experts from various fields and officials from related institutions.

The council was launched to create a public forum where the council, the press and civil society can jointly discuss major issues and policy tasks facing Seoul. Its goal is to diagnose problems closely tied to citizens' daily lives from the ground up. The results of those discussions will then be channeled into improvements to Seoul Metropolitan Government and Seoul Metropolitan Council policies and systems.

As honorary chairman, Oh will help set the council's mid- to long-term direction and its major policy agenda. He is also expected to support communication between the field, the press and experts across various sectors. He will also serve as a bridge ensuring that citizens' demands are reflected in actual policy.

He will particularly back the council's core mission of evaluating policy and crafting alternatives based on citizens' lives rather than factional interests. He also plans to focus on elevating grievances raised at the local level into citywide agenda items and improving the practical effectiveness of policy proposals.

Going forward, the council will take up complex issues facing Seoul — including housing, transportation, safety, welfare, education, culture and the environment, as well as the low birth rate, aging, youth issues and regional disparities — as agenda items for its regular policy meetings.

The council plans to identify citizens' specific needs through policy research and polling, and to build sector-specific cooperation networks involving journalists, experts and field officials. Findings from its meetings will be compiled into policy proposals and submitted to the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Council.

The council will also establish an evaluation system to objectively assess council activities and policy outcomes. It plans to identify and share model examples of council work based on criteria such as public benefit, practical effectiveness and how citizens experience the policies. It will also support the spread of exemplary policies across Seoul. Based on future policy research and public opinion, it also plans to pursue an awards system to recognize outstanding council activities and policy cases.

Oh Joong-suk, as honorary chairman of the Seoul Council-Press Research Council, speaks on the importance of building a citizen-centered policy forum and reflecting voices from the field.
Oh Joong-suk, as honorary chairman of the Seoul Council-Press Research Council, speaks on the importance of building a citizen-centered policy forum and reflecting voices from the field.

"The problems Seoul faces in housing, transportation, safety, welfare and education are closely intertwined, making them difficult to solve through the efforts of the administration and the council alone," Oh said. "We need a cooperative framework where citizens, the press, experts and field officials pool their wisdom together."

"I hope the council will establish itself as an open space that puts citizens at the center and discusses Seoul's future beyond factional lines and interests," he added. "As honorary chairman, I will fulfill my responsibility to ensure that voices from the field are faithfully reflected in council activities and policy."


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