- About 600 applicants compete for 100 seats, a ratio of 6 to 1
- Inaugural assembly set to launch Oct. 29, with full policy activities beginning in November
Daejeon's first youth parliament, a flagship initiative of Mayor Heo Tae-jeong's vision to make the city a "special city for youth," has drawn intense interest from young residents eager to shape local policy.
According to the city, about 600 people applied during a three-week open recruitment period for the Daejeon Youth Assembly. The body has 100 seats spread across four recruitment categories of 25 each, meaning roughly six applicants competed for every available spot.
Applicants came from across the city's five districts: Dong-gu drew 81 applicants, Jung-gu 66, Seo-gu 196, Yuseong-gu 216 and Daedeok-gu 42. By gender, 329 men and 272 women applied. Of the total, 37 were classified as socially disadvantaged.
The strong turnout reflects expectations that the youth assembly will go beyond simply gathering opinions — serving instead as a substantive participatory body that identifies problems young people face in daily life and channels them directly into policy and budget decisions.
To ensure fair and representative selection, the city plans to choose the 100 youth lawmakers through a randomized stratified lottery that accounts for each district's youth population share and gender balance.
Once selected, members will be assigned to one of four subcommittees based on their stage of life — career exploration, entering society, career development and family formation — where they will identify and propose youth policy initiatives and review the youth participation budget.
After the lottery, the city will verify supporting documents before finalizing the roster. Results will be announced Oct. 22 on the Daejeon Youth Portal, with an inaugural ceremony and the start of full activities scheduled for Oct. 29.
Oh Su-geun, director of the city's civil society bureau, said the high level of interest showed that young people were ready to speak up about their own lives and the changes they want to see in their community. "We will actively support their voices so they translate into real policies and budgets — not just proposals — and work to establish the Daejeon Youth Assembly as a new model of civic participation that connects youth with city governance," Oh said.
kwonhl@heraldcorp.com
