Supporting Growth of Civil Society (KR0059)

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? Citizen participation

What is the public problem that the commitment will address? Recently, due to complex and multidimensional reasons, there has been an increase in social problems that cannot be resolved by the government alone and an acceleration of the transition toward an era when cooperation with civil society is considered a given. As such, the participation of civil society has become a crucial prerequisite in securing legitimacy not only in the policy making process but also in policy outcomes and enhancing the subsequent level of acceptance of those same policies. Against this backdrop, laying the foundation for civil society participation and strengthening civil society’s capability to establish and engage in public-private governance has become a priority. To this end, the government should systematically lay the groundwork for civil society’s sustainable growth.

What is the commitment? The purpose of this commitment is to support the sustainable growth of civil society and lay the institutional foundation for public-private governance. The Korean government will promote the Civil Society Committee as a framework for public-private cooperative governance and expand both on- and off-line communication between the government and civil society to lay the institutional foundation for civil society’s participation in policy making. Furthermore, the government will establish a basic plan for promoting civil society based on bilateral communication to come up with systematic support measures. Based on the basic plan, the government will expand the culture of civic participation and communication with the government by promoting policies that boost civil society such as long-term and continuous improvements to relevant systems and support for civil society’s activities in the public interest, while also laying the foundation for the growth of civil society by creating a standard ordinance on promoting local civil societies.

How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem? This commitment will promote civil society-led public services and resolve social problems in various fields. Furthermore, it will contribute to supporting civil society’s pursuit of the public interest and the development of democracy

Exchange and Peer Learning N/A

Additional Information Government Policy Task

Milestone Activity with a Verifiable Deliverable Start Date End Date Operate a Civil Society Committee Throughout the year Promote both on- and off-line communication between the government and civil society Throughout the year Support non-profit, non-governmental organizations’activities in the public interest Every January Every December Create a standard ordinance on promoting local civil societies January 2021 December 2021

Action Plan Review

Commitment 9. Lay the groundwork for civil society to grow

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Modest

Results Report

Commitment 9. Lay the groundwork for civil society to grow

Limited implementation of this commitment weakened the institutional foundation for civil society participation in policymaking following the change of administration in 2022. Only one of its four milestones was partially completed. Prior to the implementation period, the Prime Minister’s Office developed a standard ordinance on promoting local civil society, which was then adopted by 24 local administrations. By October 2023, 21 additional local ordinances were adopted (14 in 2021, 6 in 2022, and 1 in 2023), [67] which fell well below the target of 243 local ordinances (17 municipal areas and 226 basic areas). The new administration did not progress the other three milestones to support non-profit organizations, promote government-civil society communication, and continue to operate the Civil Society Committee that had been in place since 2003. Funding for non-profit organizations declined from 7.28 billion KRW in 2020 to 6.84 billion KRW in 2021 and 6.5 billion KRW in 2022. [68] In August 2022, the Board of Audit and Inspection began auditing government support for non-profit organizations. [69] In October 2022, the government abolished the Civil Society Committee along with Regulations on Revitalizing Civil Society and Promotion of Public Interest Activities. [70] The administration justified its decision with the low level of participation among government members in the committee and its policy of reducing 30–50% of the 600+ government committees. [71] The Secretary General of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice noted that the government made this decision unilaterally without dialogue with civil society before abolishing this long-standing institution. [72]