Local governments go live as Korea's push for transparency spreads

Local government meetings have traditionally taken place behind closed doors, but more are opening them to the public through livestreams.

“Are you aware that this meeting is being livestreamed?” Busan Mayor Chun Jae-soo asked participants during a meeting on emergency measures for residents’ livelihood at Busan City Hall on Wednesday.

Drawing on his experience attending Cabinet meetings while serving as the minister of oceans and fisheries, Chun admitted that livestreaming meetings can be daunting but helpful.

“[Livestreaming] is nerve-racking and difficult,” he admitted. “But it is also a way to increase administrative accountability and show citizens how decisions that affect their lives are made.”

Chun added that the city will stream almost all of its meetings to citizens. Wednesday’s meeting, which covered support for small businesses facing financial difficulty and measures to strengthen the social safety net, was livestreamed on Busan’s official YouTube channel.

New local leaders embrace livestreams

As local governments elected in the June 3 local elections take office, many are livestreaming major meetings.

South Chungcheong announced on Thursday that it plans to livestream executive meetings and meetings of its affiliated public institutions, which make key policy decisions, on its YouTube channel.

The province also plans to install CCTV cameras in the governor’s office to ensure transparency. It will also disclose approval documents, speeches and photos of events on its official website.

Gangwon will livestream its town hall meeting next Monday. About 100 residents representing the business, cultural, agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors, as well as Gov. Woo Sang-ho, are expected to attend. Gov. Woo and transition committee officials will answer questions from locals in a public discussion format.

Open-government push spreads beyond Seoul

Some say the trend is spreading as the Lee Jae Myung administration embraces a more open approach, which includes livestreaming Cabinet meetings and ministry briefings.

In a Gallup Korea survey conducted in the third week of December last year, “communication and briefings of Cabinet and ministerial meetings” was the most frequently cited reason for positive assessments of the president’s performance at 18 percent.

Municipal governments — including Cheongju in North Chungcheong, Goyang in Gyeonggi and Gimhae in South Gyeongsang — are also joining the trend.

Cheongju Mayor Lee Jang-seob is considering opening monthly work meetings to the public, with plans to livestream the first meeting next month on the city’s YouTube channel.

Similarly, Goyang plans to livestream executive meetings, and Gimhae is also considering doing the same for major meetings, including expanded executive meetings, regular assemblies and briefings on key projects.

Transparency drive raises concerns

But not everyone is convinced that livestreams do more good than harm.

Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook livestreamed a transition committee meeting on his YouTube channel in June. However, controversy erupted after a civil servant was reprimanded during the livestream, raising concerns that civil servants could become reluctant to speak freely or find themselves exposed to excessive criticism.

“Whenever there is a major meeting presided over by the head of a local government, each bureau or department already holds preliminary meetings to prepare [for that one],” a civil servant at a metropolitan government said. “If we livestream meetings, we will have to worry about minor mistakes or other incidental issues. Discussions could also become less candid.”

Experts also say that the focus should remain on policymaking rather than officials’ on-camera mistakes.

“Livestreaming meetings has the advantage of increasing administrative transparency by allowing ordinary citizens to observe and evaluate policymaking directly rather than relying solely on media reports,” said Uhm Tae-seok, a professor of welfare administration at Seowon University.

“But participating officials may end up spending too much time preparing for meetings because they are worried about making mistakes,” Uhm added. “Authorities should also consider ways to ensure that public attention remains focused on policy rather than on officials’ mistakes […] or demeanor.”

BY SPECIAL REPORTING TEAM [[email protected]]