Seocho District Council Member Shin Jungtae Proposes Policies for Youth, Women, and Seniors

Calls for Youth Participatory Budgeting, "Career-Holding Women" Terminology,
and Enhanced Fall Prevention Measures

Shin Jung-tae, councilman for Jamwon-dong and Banpo 1, 3, and 4-dong at the Seocho District Council in Seoul, has proposed "three major policy initiatives" for youth, women, and seniors. On the 4th, during the second plenary session of the 352nd regular meeting, Councilman Shin addressed Mayor Jeon Seong-su with questions about district administration, calling for the introduction of a Seocho-style youth participatory budgeting system, a change of terminology and ordinance amendment for "career-interrupted women" to "career-holding women," and the expansion of eligibility for fall prevention support. This was announced on the 9th.

Councilmember Jeong-Tae Shin continues with the district administration questions. Provided by Seocho District Council.

Regarding youth policy, Councilman Shin highlighted that out of the 34 initiatives proposed by the "Seocho Youth Network," established in 2017, 17 have been reflected in district administration. He emphasized the need to expand youth participation from merely the "proposal" stage to the "budget formulation" stage.

He cited examples from other local governments that allocate portions of participatory budgets specifically for youth or grant youth policy committees the authority to deliberate on budgets. Councilman Shin proposed implementing a "Seocho-style youth participatory budgeting system," which would allocate a separate portion of the district’s annual participatory budget—currently about 2 billion won—for the youth sector. Mayor Jeon expressed agreement with the idea but responded that, rather than simply replicating the approach of other districts, the system should be tailored to fit Seocho’s specific circumstances.

On women’s policy, Councilman Shin stressed that the term "career-interrupted women" should be changed to "career-holding women." Citing the Ministry of Data and Statistics’ "Regional Employment Survey for the First Half of 2025," he noted there are 1,105,000 career-interrupted women, with 44.3% having left work due to childcare and 42.1% experiencing career interruptions lasting more than 10 years. He urged Seocho District to pursue ordinance revisions and social awareness improvements in line with changes to higher-level laws. Mayor Jeon acknowledged the symbolic weight of the terminology and responded that the district would review how the intent of national legislation could be incorporated into the Seocho ordinances.

For senior policy, Councilman Shin called for improving the effectiveness of the fall prevention initiative. Citing statistics from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, he pointed out that 43.6% of fall injury cases occur at home, and the number of falls in senior care facilities increased from 112 cases in 2020 to 523 cases in 2024.

While recognizing the district’s current efforts with ICT safety monitoring and AI-based exercise care services, he suggested supplementing these with home environment improvement projects, such as providing safety handles and anti-slip supplies, and expanding support from vulnerable groups to include all seniors.

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