Mayor Jeong Deokyoung to Cut Down Reports, Break Down Silos... Yangju City Sets Administrative Transformation in Motion

Yangju City Embraces Administrative Overhaul, Shedding Reports and Formalities
Executive Meetings Reduced, Shift to Solution-Oriented Discussions
"Report Diet" with One-Page Key Summaries
Departmental Barriers Broken, Major Meetings Opened to Public
Bold Administrative Transformation toward Becoming Northern Gyeonggi’s Central City

Jeong Deokyoung, Mayor of Yangju City in Gyeonggi Province, has launched an administrative experiment to eliminate the long-standing practices of "reports and formalities" in the public sector with the start of the 9th popularly elected government. The number of meetings has been reduced, while discussions have been increased, and lengthy reports have been replaced with concise, one-page documents highlighting key information. Breaking down barriers between departments and reflecting frontline employees' voices in city administration are also key components of the initiative.

The new municipal vision for Yangju under the 9th administration is "A Major Shift in Citizen Sovereignty, Yangju as the Center of Northern Gyeonggi." Mayor Jeong believes that, beyond launching new projects, changing the way the public sector works is essential for citizens to feel meaningful change.

Jeong Deokyoung, Mayor of Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, has embarked on an administrative experiment to eliminate the long-standing custom of "reports and formalities" in the public sector with the launch of the ninth elected term. The photo shows the entire executive meeting of Yangju held on July 7. Provided by Yangju City

Changing Meetings First... From 'Reporting' to 'Solving'

Yangju City has reduced its monthly executive meetings from twice per month to once. Instead of merely listing work performance and current issues, the city has shifted to "solution-oriented discussion meetings."

The Thursday tea times previously held alternately by the mayor and deputy mayor have been restructured into "Department Head Meetings," in which directors and chiefs of key offices gather to address core municipal issues together.

Previously, regular executive meetings involved each department head sequentially reporting on their issues and receiving directives. This process focused on the summary and listing of current affairs and performance, but left little room for finding solutions through interdepartmental cooperation or in-depth discussion.

This structure also placed a considerable burden on staff. Administrative resources were consumed in compiling materials and creating reports for every meeting, leading to meeting fatigue. As a result, the actual time spent on problem-solving between relevant departments facing issues in the field was relatively limited.

Yangju City has set out to boldly change this meeting culture. For citywide executive meetings, only the most urgent issues and tasks requiring collaboration between multiple departments are prioritized for inclusion, and discussion is emphasized over mere reporting.

Executives are encouraged to present ideas and solutions from the perspective of citywide interests, regardless of departmental boundaries. Issues involving differing departmental opinions are also brought to the table for coordination and division of roles.

This alters the yardstick for meetings from "What was reported?" to "What was solved?"

Jung Deok-Young, mayor of Yangju City in Gyeonggi Province, has embarked on an administrative experiment to eliminate the long-standing bureaucratic practice of 'reports and formalities' in public service with the launch of the ninth elected term. Photo by Yangju City

Reports Down to One Page... From the Desk to the Field

Report materials will also be greatly simplified.

When presenting on key issues, directors and chiefs will use a one-page summary document focusing solely on the core content, instead of lengthy narrative forms. For more complex issues, rather than increasing verbose explanations, graphs and other visual elements will be used to clearly present main points and trends at a glance.

The time spent creating reports will also be reduced. Instead of focusing administrative resources on refining language and format, more emphasis will be placed on policy planning and field review.

This so-called "report diet" aims to move public officials from their desks back to the front lines.

Jung Dukyoung, Mayor of Yangju City in Gyeonggi Province, embarked on an administrative experiment to eliminate the long-standing bureaucratic practices of "reports and formalities" in the public sector with the launch of the 9th elected term. Photo shows a scene from an on-site meeting. Provided by Yangju City

Eliminating "Not My Department" ... Breaking Down Departmental Silos

The walls between departments will be dismantled as well.

For issues where multiple departments are closely intertwined—such as development, transportation, welfare, or complex civil affairs—these cannot be resolved by a single department alone. If responsibilities are not clear or positions differ, an "administrative ping-pong" ensues, with the task bouncing between departments.

Yangju City intends to use the Department Head Meetings as a "coordination table" to resolve such problems in a single sitting.

Executives will contribute ideas and viewpoints from the perspective of the entire city, regardless of their own responsibilities. For issues involving multiple departments, roles will be assigned and solutions outlined at the meeting. Rather than starting with "Which department is responsible?" the priority will be "How can we solve this problem for citizens?"

Matters decided upon in meetings will be followed through to ensure implementation. Responsible departments and timelines will be clarified, and progress will be regularly checked so that meeting conclusions become concrete policies.

This effort is not just about breaking down departmental barriers, but also about establishing a system of responsible administration that links "Discussion→Decision→Implementation→Review."

Jeong Deokyoung, mayor of Yangju City in Gyeonggi Province, has launched an administrative experiment to eliminate the long-standing practice of "reports and formalities" in the public service with the start of the 9th local government term. The photo shows the Yangju City executives' meeting held on July 7. Provided by Yangju City

Opening Closed Meeting Rooms... Sharing the Policy-Making Process

The doors to meeting rooms will be opened as well. The city is promoting the live broadcast of key municipal work meetings and is considering utilizing internal broadcasting and online systems for real-time public access.

Instead of conveying only the final outcomes of policies, the city aims to share the entire process—including what discussions and judgments shaped policy directions.

Transparent disclosure of the policy-making process will increase staff understanding of municipal administration and reduce information gaps between departments. As the need for additional explanations and communications about policy backgrounds is diminished, the city expects to accelerate follow-up work and policy implementation.

Jung Deokyoung, mayor of Yangju, Gyeonggi Province, has embarked on an administrative experiment to eliminate the long-standing customs of "reports and formalities" in the public service with the launch of the 9th popularly elected term. The photo shows Mayor Jung Deokyoung communicating with employees. Courtesy of Yangju City

Top Down and Bottom Up... 'Conversations with Staff'

The other pillar of administrative innovation is direct communication with employees.

Through "conversations with staff," the city listens directly to frontline officials about the challenges they face and their thoughts about organizational culture. Shifting from top-down communication by executives, the city intends to broaden the channel for the voices of those most familiar with field realities to reach upper management.

Among the suggestions offered by employees, actionable ideas will be reflected in policy and organizational culture improvements.

Ultimately, the direction of Yangju City's administrative innovation converges on a single goal: reducing the time public officials spend on reporting and formality, while increasing the time spent finding answers with citizens in the field. The aim is to translate changes in internal organizational culture into improvements in administrative services that citizens can actually feel.

Mayor Jeong Deokyoung of Yangju City emphasized, "It is never easy to break down conventions and formalities in administration, but unnecessary procedures must be eliminated before the true voices of citizens can be fully heard. Only when public officials visit the field more than they work on report writing, and communicate openly with staff, will genuine administrative innovation—one that citizens can truly experience—be fully realized."

With the launch of the 9th term, Yangju City is putting its working methods under the scalpel. Rather than evaluating administrative performance by the thickness of reports, Mayor Jeong Deokyoung's "practical administration" seeks to measure it by how quickly problems are solved—attention is now focused on whether this approach will lead to Yangju becoming the leading city of northern Gyeonggi Province.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.