Gimpo Mayor Lee Gi-hyung visited all 14 residents' meetings held since June, where he listened to community members discuss locally identified issues and expressed his commitment to support the implementation of projects and budget allocations that address problems overlooked by the administration.
According to the city on July 29, the 14 community councils in Gimpo held their '2026 Residents' Meetings' from June 13 to July 27. During these meetings, they shared results from last year's activities and the status of this year's community empowerment projects, ultimately deciding on the priorities for the 2027 community plan through resident voting.
The residents' meetings serve as a core process of community governance, where councils identify local issues and necessary projects, explain them to residents, and determine actionable agendas through advance and on-site voting. Gimpo City is currently establishing community councils across all 14 districts to promote local initiatives.
This year's meetings included reports on the 2025 activities of each community council and the status of 2026 projects, followed by explanations of the 2027 community project plans reflecting local characteristics, such as improving living conditions, traffic safety, culture, welfare, and community revitalization.
A total of 23,338 votes were cast by residents, leading to the identification of 56 local issues based on discussions and voting results. These issues will undergo a review and deliberation process for future community empowerment projects.
The city plans to confirm actual projects after reviewing related laws, project costs, land acquisition, safety, and potential overlaps with other initiatives, ensuring that tasks residents can feel are actively reflected in the 2027 city plan and budget process.
Mayor Lee visited all 14 districts where the meetings were held to verify the activities of the community councils and the issues raised by residents and council members. He instructed relevant departments to address administrative support for projects requiring it.
Gimpo City aims to go beyond merely conducting residents' meetings as internal decision-making events. It plans to enhance the feasibility of resident proposals by linking them with departmental reviews and consultations, ensuring that selected issues lead to administrative plans and budget allocations.
Previously, Gimpo amended relevant ordinances to strengthen the autonomy and accountability of community councils and recruited members for the fourth term of the councils in each of the 14 districts. The selected members will be responsible for hosting residents' meetings, identifying local issues, and promoting resident-led projects from 2026 to 2027.
Mayor Lee stated, "While administration must operate within the confines of systems and regulations, residents are the first to identify issues that the administration may overlook in their daily lives and can create practical alternatives. We will actively support projects proposed by residents to lead to tangible changes in the community."
He added, "The opinions of citizens gathered at the residents' meetings will serve as an important criterion for the future operation of Gimpo's administration. We will continue to communicate to ensure that community governance does not remain a formal participation process but becomes a system where residents directly determine the future of their community."
Meanwhile, Gimpo City plans to conduct reviews and deliberations for the 56 issues selected through the residents' meetings, sharing the final project implementation status and budget allocation results with the community councils. The city aims to ensure resident participation throughout the project implementation process, establishing a community governance system that encompasses proposal, decision-making, execution, and performance verification.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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