Gwangmyeong City Enacts 'Constitution-Friendly City Ordinance,' First Among Local Governments Nationwide

Gwangmyeong City (Mayor Park Seung-won) has become the first local government nationwide to enact the 'Ordinance on Creating a Constitution-Friendly City.'

A 'Constitution-Friendly City' is a city that naturally reflects the basic principle of 'popular sovereignty' contained in the Republic of Korea Constitution throughout city governance, guarantees citizens' fundamental rights, and realizes the values of democracy and decentralized governance.

The city announced that the 'Ordinance on Creating and Supporting Constitution-Friendly Gwangmyeong City' was passed at the regular session of the 302nd Gwangmyeong City Council held on the 18th. The ordinance will take effect immediately following its proclamation in October.

The enactment of this ordinance is significant as it clarifies the commitment of local governments, which administer in the closest proximity to the people and citizens, to realize the basic principles and values of the Constitution in citizens' daily lives and local communities.

The ordinance includes basic matters necessary for creating a Constitution-Friendly City, such as △the duties of the mayor and public officials △establishing basic plans and annual implementation plans for the Constitution-Friendly City △checking and evaluating implementation results △citizen constitutional education and participation·promotion.

The mayor is assigned the duty to establish and implement a 'Constitution-Friendly City Basic Plan' every five years and, based on this, to establish and implement annual implementation plans. Furthermore, implementation results are to be checked and evaluated, and the results reflected in the following year's plan to enhance policy continuity and implementation capability.

The duties of public officials are also specified to ensure that constitutional values do not remain confined to individual projects of specific departments but become principles throughout administration. Public officials must reflect the values pursued by the Constitution in their duties, protect citizens' interests, and make efforts to expand citizen policy participation.

A 'Constitution-Friendly City Formation Committee' will be established to deliberate on major policies and projects for creating a Constitution-Friendly City. The committee is planned to be composed of no more than 15 members to enable participation by various stakeholders including experts, city council members, and citizen representatives.

The city plans to promote customized constitutional education for citizens and public officials and expand public forums and deliberative programs that jointly discuss local issues and constitutional values.

Furthermore, to strengthen cooperation among local governments sharing the values of the Constitution and the meaning of citizen sovereignty, the city will also pursue organizing the 'Constitution-Friendly City Local Government Council.' Through joint research and education and policy exchange, the city plans to share Gwangmyeong's experience and spread the trend of local administration that values citizen dignity and rights nationwide.

Mayor Park Seung-won of Gwangmyeong stated, "The Constitution should not be confined to legal texts but should be a standard that protects citizens' lives and provides direction for administration," and added, "We will place citizen dignity and fundamental rights at the center of administration and create a city where citizen sovereignty translates into substantive rights."