Gyeonggi Province to Conduct Pre-consultation Field Counseling in 31 Cities and Counties Starting October 25 in Suwon and Bucheon

[Suwon Ilbo = Reporter Park No-hun] Gyeonggi Province announced on the 11th that it plans to operate the "Second Half Pre-consultation Audit Field Counseling Service" at 31 municipal and county government offices, starting October 25 in Suwon and Bucheon and concluding by November 30 in Yeoncheon.

At the counseling service, both civil servants and citizens who have submitted or plan to submit permit applications can share grievances with relevant officials if they believe that such permit-related tasks are not being actively processed or reviewed.

Depending on the content of consultation, solutions for minor matters will be provided on-site, while matters requiring in-depth review will be addressed through pre-consultation audit submission, seeking solutions through legal counsel and coordination with central government agencies.

Citizens wishing to use the counseling service for permit-related matters can complete a consultation application form posted on the Gyeonggi Province Pre-consultation Audit website (www.gg.go.kr/gg_thanks) or on relevant municipal and county websites and submit it to the audit department of the respective city or county.

Previously, the province operated the "First Half Pre-consultation Audit Field Counseling Service" from May to June, conducting 71 consultations with residents across 20 cities and counties and working to resolve grievances.

Looking at specific examples, in the case of Yongin City, when applying for approval to establish a knowledge-based industrial center, the criteria for occupant industries were unclear, so manufacturing was included among permitted industries. However, considering rapidly changing industrial trends, the province presented clear criteria for occupant industries—allowing knowledge-based industrial centers to be established with only individual industries such as manufacturing, knowledge-based industries, or information and communication industries—thereby resolving the citizen's grievance.

Meanwhile, the province improved the system in February of last year to allow citizens applying for permits to use the pre-consultation audit system, and from this year, expanded the "Field Counseling Service" from being held once annually to twice annually to activate the system. Recognized for these achievements, the province was selected as an exemplary metropolitan local government for proactive administration by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and received a commendation from the Minister.

Kim Jin-hyo, Gyeonggi Province's Audit Coordinator, stated, "The field counseling service is popular not only with residents but also with civil servants who cannot actively perform their duties due to concerns about disadvantages," and added, "We will make efforts to activate proactive administration among permit-related municipal and county officials so that residents' difficulties can be actively resolved."