"Citizens Review Pledges"... Hampyeong County Launches Citizen Jury Program

Sharing Jury Roles and Future Directions

Hampyeong County in Jeonnam-Gwangju Metropolitan City has begun full-scale operation of the ‘9th Directly Elected Term Public Pledge Evaluation Citizen Jury.’ This initiative aims to directly verify the pledges of the new administration from the citizens’ perspective and enhance the completeness of the implementation plans.

Hampyeong County held the first meeting of the Pledge Evaluation Citizens' Jury on the 4th at the county office's large conference room. Photo by Hampyeong County

According to Hampyeong County on the 6th, the first meeting of the Public Pledge Evaluation Citizen Jury was recently held in the large conference room at the county office.

To ensure fairness and objectivity in the evaluation process, the county formed the citizen jury in cooperation with the Korea Manifesto Headquarters, a professional specialized institution.

The Citizen Jury was assembled through a two-step process. First, citizens aged 18 and over who wished to participate were recruited randomly using an automated response system (ARS) that considered gender, age, and residential area. Subsequently, phone interviews were conducted to select the final 30 members.

At the first meeting held that day, the jury members were officially appointed, and received specialized training from the Korea Manifesto Headquarters. The session covered the meaning of manifestos, resident participation-type pledge evaluation, the roles of jury members, and upcoming activities. The jury then formed working groups and began preparations in earnest for future pledge verification activities.

This citizen jury system is significant in that citizens themselves participate from the initial pledge confirmation stage and verify the appropriateness and feasibility of the pledges.

Hampyeong County has currently prepared a total of 74 pledge implementation plans, following reviews and adjustments by each department regarding feasibility, funding sources, and execution timelines.

Among these, one pledge—'Strengthening Farm Work Agency Services'—will be presented to the jury for consideration for possible exclusion from the list of pledges.

The county plans to make the final decision on whether to exclude any pledge after considering the purpose, policy environment, and business viability, with the citizen jury ultimately making the judgment.

Following the first meeting, the Citizen Jury will convene a total of three times, with the second meeting scheduled for the 18th and the third on October 2.

During the second meeting, the responsible departments will directly explain the pledge review items and implementation plans and engage in a Q&A session with the jury. In the third meeting, the jury will prepare their final opinions and recommendations based on each group’s discussion results.

Lee Nam-oh, Mayor of Hampyeong County, stated, “We will thoroughly incorporate the Citizen Jury’s suggestions into our pledge implementation plans to improve the effectiveness and completeness of the ninth administration’s pledges.” He added, “We will transparently disclose the progress of pledge implementation and maintain continuous communication with citizens to achieve changes and results that everyone can truly feel.”

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