Issues and Recommendations for the Establishment of a National Youth Policy Delivery System: A Look at Seoul's Case

Abstract

The government revealed its First Basic Youth Policy Plan last December, after the Framework Act on Youth was enacted in February and implemented six months later. The task of establishing a “youthfriendly policy delivery system” falls under “Youth Participation and Rights”, one of the five areas the First Basic Youth Policy Plan is set up for. The establishment of a youth-friendly delivery system is largely about revamping the current “Online Youth Center” into “Youth Hanaro”, an expanded online platform that links local youth policies to national youth policies and setting up within every lowertier municipality at least one “Youth Madang” to provide functional space for youth activities and participation. In its third meeting held on March 30, the Youth Policy Coordination Committee reviewed and decided on action plans for various issues, including those concerning youth participation in government committees, ways to get youth employment policy measures to take hold, and a plan of activities for non-government members of the Committee. As for Youth Hanaro, the Committee decided that the online-based youth policy planform would be established by a task force team consisting of members from relevant ministries and non-government stakeholders. The Committee also decided that it woulddesignate sites for a total of 12 new Youth Madang centers and set up standard operation procedures for them. As of now, there are 278 youth employment service centers, 152 of which being managed by the national government and the rest by local governments. Also, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has of late helped several lower-tier municipal governments build and manage Active Youth Centers, with a view to helping young people with their activities and self-reliance. With such circumstances in mind, this brief looks at the example of Seoul City’s own youth policy delivery and discusses its implications for the proposed youth policy delivery system.