Jung Ye-ji, Bupyeong District Councillor, "Waste Administration Must Shift from Government-Led to Citizen-Driven Participation"

Jung Ye-ji, a Bupyeong District Councillor (Democratic Party of Korea·Proportional), urged the need for innovative support measures that can lead to voluntary participation from citizens, moving away from administrative-led clean-up activities to solve the chronic waste problem in Bupyeong District.

During the resource circulation report at the Urban Environment Committee meeting held on the 28th, Councillor Jung introduced the case of ‘Young People Picking Up Trash at Bupyeong Station’, which has recently gone viral on SNS with over 500,000 views.

Councillor Jung stated, "The administration has its limits in managing all alleys and mountains," and suggested that support from the district level is necessary to ensure that citizens' efforts to create a culture where 'throwing away is inconvenient' do not end as a one-time event, proposing measures such as reimbursement for actual expenses or granting volunteer hours.

In response, the head of the resource circulation department said, "We will internally review exemplary cases that can collaborate with private volunteers and consider ways to secure sustainability."

During the subsequent inquiry on environmental conservation, Councillor Jung strongly criticized the department for its ‘lack of environmental awareness’. In particular, she directly refuted the department's concerns that the ‘keystone species’ selection project, which she has been diligently promoting, could hinder development.

Councillor Jung remarked, "Keystone species are a symbolic concept that promotes ecological value and leads to resident participation, not a legal regulation," and pointed out that it is a dereliction of duty for the department responsible for environmental preservation to fail to distinguish between legal regulations such as ‘endangered species’ and ‘keystone species’ while prioritising development logic. She also demanded thorough education and awareness improvement at the district office level, mentioning inappropriate remarks made by department officials during the meeting.

Additionally, Councillor Jung called for meticulous legislative activities, including thorough water quality management of the ‘Swan and Lightning Springs’, which lack sterilizers due to the inability to install power, and systematic management and enhanced public awareness of invasive species such as the ‘wolf turtle’.

Councillor Jung emphasized, "I will closely monitor whether the protection of keystone species and citizen participation-based resource circulation measures are adequately reflected in the environmental plan to be established by February."