Gwanak District Fully Launches 'Youth Participatory Budgeting System'... 10 Projects to Receive First Budget Allocation Next Year

Separate Budget, Independent Operation, and Institutionalization Through an Ordinance Amendment

Seoul's Gwanak District (Mayor Park Junhee) announced on October 8 that it will fully launch a youth participatory budgeting system that incorporates policies proposed directly by young people into the budget. In its first year, 2027, the program will start with 10 projects totaling KRW 200 million.

Gwanak District Mayor Park Junhee (front row, center) and officials pose for a commemorative photo after a meeting of the Youth Policy Committee. Photo provided by Gwanak-gu.

The district reviewed 23 projects proposed by the Gwanak Youth Network, a youth participation body, through the relevant departments and selected 10. The proposals were finalized after deliberation and approval by the Youth Policy Committee on October 6. The district plans to include them in its 2027 main budget, subject to review by the district council.

The selected projects include support for generative AI subscriptions; support to help socially isolated and reclusive young people transition in their daily lives; the online youth policy platform "Gwanak Youth ON"; the Gwanak Youth Local Content Studio; "Re-Routine," a 14-week program for young people who have left their jobs; support for performances by young artists; and upcycling and environmental education for young people.

The district will operate youth participatory budgeting as a separate system, rather than as one division of its resident participatory budgeting program. It will set aside a separate budget quota and establish an independent operating framework, while pursuing institutionalization through an amendment to the relevant ordinance.

The district will also lower barriers to participation. Starting next year, any young person in Gwanak District will be able to propose policies from January through May. In addition to the Gwanak Youth Network, individual young people and organizations and institutions related to youth policy will be able to participate through public forums, deliberation and discussion, and online submissions. Proposed policies will undergo public discussion and deliberation at youth policy roundtables, as well as an eligibility review by the relevant departments. The Youth Policy Committee will make the final selections, and a pitch competition will give proposers the opportunity to explain their policies in person. The district will also operate a "Youth Proposal Accountability and Response System," which will disclose the review results for each project and whether it has been included in the budget.

The district plans to gradually expand youth participatory budgeting from KRW 200 million next year to a total of KRW 1.1 billion.

Mayor Park Junhee said, "The ninth popularly elected administration is a time to usher in an 'era of youth sovereignty,' in which young people's voices are directly reflected in policy and budgets. We will create a youth participation model unique to Gwanak, where more young people can propose policies and take part in discussions, turning their ideas into tangible policies and projects."

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