Bupyeong District Council Member Kim Dong-min: "Child Participation Must Lead to Actual Policy Reflection Beyond Simple Activities"

Kim Dong-min, a member of the Bupyeong District Council (Democratic Party, Bupyeong 2, 5, 6, Bugae 1, Ilshin-dong), belonging to the Administrative Welfare Committee, called for the establishment of a detailed support system to enhance the effectiveness of children's policy participation and to ensure the stable integration of disabled individuals leaving facilities into the community.

During the 5th Administrative Welfare Committee meeting of the 274th extraordinary session held on the 3rd, Council Member Kim pointed out various issues concerning the district administration, targeting the Child Welfare Division and the Elderly and Disabled Division.

In his inquiry to the Child Welfare Division, Council Member Kim emphasized the need to activate the operation of the 'Child Participation Committee'. He stated, "It is encouraging that the number of committee members is steadily increasing and that the hope for reappointment among children is high," but also pointed out, "We should refer to cases where other local governments, such as Seo-gu in Incheon, have received higher-level certification as a UNICEF Child-Friendly City, and our district should create more substantial outcomes where children's voices are actually adopted into policies."

In particular, Council Member Kim presented the 'Happy School' policy of Seo-gu in Gwangju Metropolitan City as a benchmarking case, urging, "Certification as a Child-Friendly City is not the end but the beginning. Please actively implement policies so that children's ideas can change the future of Bupyeong District."

He further praised Bupyeong District's outstanding achievements in 'supporting the independence of the disabled' during his inquiry to the Elderly and Disabled Division. Council Member Kim encouraged, "The fact that more than half of the independent individuals in Incheon City are from Bupyeong District is thanks to the dedicated efforts of field officials and the independence support center."

He continued, "Leaving the facility is not the end, but the key task is to 'settle' healthily in the community. Since the biggest difficulty faced by the disabled, according to the survey results, is economic issues, we must also focus on establishing economic support measures that enable independence within the community, along with step-by-step housing support."

In response, the head of the Elderly and Disabled Division stated, "We are activating a unique network for the disabled in Bupyeong District and conducting quarterly case meetings," and added, "Based on the independence achievement casebook published this year, we will do our best to ensure that disabled individuals leaving facilities can live healthily alongside non-disabled individuals."