Yoon Hye-young, Yeonsu District Council Member: "Student and Youth Policies Must Move Beyond Showmanship"

Yoon Hye-young, Yeonsu District Council Member (Democratic Party of Korea, Songdo 2, Songdo 4, Songdo 5), pointed out during the major business report of the Planning and Welfare Committee at the 277th Yeonsu District Council temporary session held on February 2 that regarding youth and young adult policies and job creation initiatives, "It is time to consider effectiveness over formality and sustainability over mere results."

Regarding the district's field trip and career linkage program for first-year middle school students being promoted by the Songdo Administration, Yoon evaluated, "The intention itself is very good, but the current plan is excessively excessive and unrealistic." He stated, "The method of moving between the Second Government Building, Youth Training Center, and major departments of the district office to cover all programs in a short time can only leave superficial experiences for the students."

He continued, "If it is a subject-linked program, it should be designed so that students can choose areas of interest and have a dense experience rather than just listing field trips," and suggested, "It is necessary to restructure it into a realistic program through day-by-day and elective operations or prior consultations with schools." He also pointed out the importance of sharing preliminary materials, stating, "It is not desirable to repeatedly receive answers like 'still under consideration' in the reporting session."

Yoon expressed concerns regarding the operation of the 'Safeguard' initiative, which addresses safety issues in Songdo through resident participation. He remarked, "While the intention of 24-hour complaint reception through open chat rooms is good, in reality, it relies on 1-2 specific employees for constant response," and emphasized, "The speed of administration should not become dependent on the dedication of individual employees."

In particular, he stated, "In a situation where complaints arise at night and dawn, a structure that continuously demands real-time responses is not sustainable in the long term," and stressed, "The results of a month of operation should be organized and shared with the committee, and it should be supplemented with a more efficient system."

Regarding job policies, he raised issues with both language and structure. Yoon commented on the name of the core project, 'Customized Employment Support Program by Class,' saying, "The term 'class' can inadvertently stigmatize the target individuals," and suggested, "It needs to be revised to a more universal and respectful expression, such as support by target group or life cycle."

Additionally, concerning the operation of youth spaces, he stated, "Continuing the project without analyzing the reasons for low space rental performance indicates a weakening of the administrative self-check function," and demanded, "It is necessary to redesign the promotion and operation methods to allow a broader range of youth to access beyond the youth network-centered operation."

Regarding the forklift, elevator, and fire safety manager training programs being promoted as a collaborative job creation initiative among cities and districts, Yoon emphasized, "This could lead to market oversupply due to overlapping workforce training with existing vocational training systems," and stated, "We must actively discover new job models that reflect the characteristics of the Yeonsu District and future industrial environments."

Yoon concluded, "Policies should not be reported in numbers, but should be understandable to all participating students, youth, and staff," and stated, "Now is the time to check and adjust the direction."