The Incheon Metropolitan Government (Mayor Park Chan-dae) held its 2026 Joint Meeting of Public-Conflict Bodies at the City Hall video conference room on the 2nd, discussing directions for addressing major public-conflict issues. At the meeting, a plan to reuse the upper site of the decommissioned Second Landfill at the Sudokwon Landfill Site was finalized as a citizen deliberation agenda, launching in earnest a process to reflect in policy the views of residents who have borne environmental damage for more than 30 years.
 [코리안투데이] Incheon’s 2026 Joint Meeting of Public-Conflict Bodies © 장형임 기자 |
The Incheon Metropolitan Government announced that it held its 2026 Joint Meeting of Public-Conflict Bodies at the City Hall video conference room on the 2nd. Held for the second time following last year, this joint meeting was arranged to bring together the Public Deliberation and Conflict Management Committee and the Conflict Management Steering Committee to strengthen their cooperative framework. In that the two bodies examine pending issues together rather than as individual committees, it carries significance as an attempt to respond in an integrated manner, moving away from a method of handling conflict issues scattered across separate departments.
The meeting was attended by Kim Yong-gil, chair of the Public Deliberation and Conflict Management Committee, and Seo Jeong-cheol, chair of the Conflict Management Steering Committee, along with members of both committees. Incheon Metropolitan Council members Jeon Jae-un and Kang Sun-hwa, appointed to fill vacancies, as well as conflict-management experts Cho Eun-yeong and Lee Seon-gyeong, also took part, adding expertise to the discussion. A total of eight agenda items were addressed, including three items for review and resolution and five items for report.
The most notable point was that the initiative to create a resident-friendly space at the Second Landfill of the Sudokwon Landfill Site was finalized and resolved as a citizen deliberation agenda. Amid a range of views on how to use the 1.54-million-square-meter upper site of the decommissioned Second Landfill, the measure aims to give top priority to securing the acceptance of local residents and citizens who have borne environmental damage for more than 30 years. The intent is to reflect residents’ views procedurally rather than have the administration unilaterally decide on the use of the site.
Incheon will hold a total of three deliberation forums for a panel of deliberating citizens from October through November. The plan is to prepare policy recommendations reflecting citizens’ views through the provision of sufficient information and discussion.
Discussions on institutional reform also took place. To enhance the representativeness and expertise of the Public Deliberation and Conflict Management Committee and to advance Incheon’s public-conflict response system, the committee addressed a plan to amend the ‘Incheon Metropolitan City Ordinance on Public Deliberation and Conflict Management.’ Participants agreed to ask the relevant departments and the City Council to introduce an amendment so that the ordinance revision—centered on establishing grounds for a conflict-mediation officer system and the operation of a dedicated team—can be pursued promptly. In addition, an amendment to the ‘Detailed Operating Rules on Public Deliberation and Conflict Management of Incheon Metropolitan City’ was also reviewed and resolved.
Among the ensuing report items, the following were discussed in detail: ▲progress of conflict mediation in the Yongyu Noeulbit Town district ▲the 2026 plan to strengthen public-conflict management capacity ▲the plan for a demand survey on projects subject to conflict-impact analysis in 2027 ▲the plan to conduct a public-conflict perception survey ▲support from conflict-mediation experts for the modernization project of the Songdo Resource Circulation Center. In particular, regarding the modernization project of the Songdo Resource Circulation Center, the city plans to actively provide conflict-mediation experts during future resident briefing sessions and opinion-gathering processes to broaden communication with residents and raise the project’s acceptance.
Furthermore, to enhance public officials’ capacity to respond to public conflicts, Incheon plans to produce educational materials and videos and conduct rotating training for officials at the main city government and at county and district offices, continuously strengthening its prevention and management systems.
Kim Yong-gil, chair of the Public Deliberation and Conflict Management Committee, said, ‘This joint meeting was a meaningful occasion where the two committees pooled their wisdom to resolve Incheon’s major conflict issues,’ adding, ‘I hope the plan to reuse the Second Landfill at the Sudokwon site leads to substantive policy recommendations, and that the conflict-management system becomes more systematic through the ordinance revision.’ Lee Yong-hee, head of the city’s Citizen Service Division, said, ‘We will closely review the valuable opinions proposed by the members and actively reflect them in city administration,’ adding, ‘Going forward, through field-centered prevention and mediation activities, we will build an exemplary conflict-resolution model that citizens can relate to.’
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