2024-07-23 07:26:35
Small-scale development projects, including development permits, are usually directly related to citizens’ daily lives and livelihoods, so unlike large-scale development projects, they have an immediate impact on citizens’ activities. However, the perception that citizens perceive during the permit process is difficult and complicated.
In particular, what makes the building owner anxious is the time it takes to complete the permit process. If the permit, which is the first step of construction, is delayed, the project progress is bound to be delayed, and as time passes, financial costs increase, and project and construction costs snowball, not only does it leave an economic loss, but in some cases, the project itself loses its momentum.
Paju City has put the city’s permit process on the operating table of innovation to alleviate the grievances related to various permits and licenses directly related to citizens’ livelihoods and property rights. The key to innovation was to make the process simple and the processing speed fast so that anyone can easily and quickly process permits and licenses without specialized knowledge or advanced information.
The civil affairs administrative service 2/5/7 system presented by Paju City as a solution is creating a breath of innovation that overcomes the inefficiency of difficult and complex permit administration and invigorates people’s lives.
The results of 2.5.7, which was simplified to notify the results of the legal review and consultation between related departments within just 7 days of filing a complaint, are remarkable. The compliance rate for the system reached 99.7% over the past year since its implementation in July 2023, and the permit processing period was shortened by 57% from an average of 41 days in the first half of 2023, before the implementation of the system, to an average of 18 days in the second half, after the implementation of the system. The results of the complaint satisfaction survey conducted on complainants who directly experienced 2.5.7 also reached 8.6 out of 10.
■ Realizing a one-stop licensing system through bold organizational restructuring that breaks away from civil servant convenience
The fact that Paju City’s permit administration was able to bring about such a groundbreaking change was largely due to the will of Paju City Mayor Kim Kyung-il, who has advocated “citizen-centered active administration” as the core philosophy of the city administration. The first step toward innovation was to boldly reorganize the organization so that it could move away from the convenience of civil servants and carry out administration that meets the eye level of citizens.
In January of last year, Paju City established a permit department under the Construction and Housing Bureau, concentrating work that had been divided into individual departments according to tasks such as construction, mountain land conversion, farmland conversion, and development permits into one place. In addition, the permit department was further divided into departments 1, 2, and 3, each of which was in charge of civil complaints in each town, township, and ward, realizing the so-called “one-stop permit system” that allows for the batch processing of complex civil complaints.
Establishing a system for processing complex civil complaints is a key element that cannot be omitted in the administrative innovation of Paju City’s permits and licenses. In general, permits and licenses have a ‘permit agenda’ system in place by law for the convenience of petitioners. Therefore, if a main permit is received, it is considered that related permits have been received. Therefore, there is a risk that the permit processing period may be extended indefinitely while going through consultation procedures according to various individual laws for agenda processing. In addition, Paju City, due to the characteristics of a city that combines urban and rural areas, has a whopping 96% (as of 2023) of complex civil complaints that include agendas such as development activities, mountain land conversion, farmland conversion, and deliberation among building permit applications. As a result, there are many related departments that need to be consulted, and the types of documents that petitioners need to submit are diverse and complex, which has led to many difficulties in the permit and license process.
Since the establishment of the permit department, the inconvenience of building owners and other complainants having to visit each department to file complaints has been completely eliminated. The risk of confusion and delays in procedures due to conflicts of opinion between departments has also been avoided.
■ Activation of communication with the public through the establishment of a licensing general department, acceleration of innovation through increased expertise and concentration in licensing work
The effectiveness of 2.5.7, which enabled rapid processing of civil complaints within 7 days with a single visit, was further strengthened through another reorganization in January of this year, with the establishment of the Permit General Affairs Department.
The city transferred the factory establishment team that had been handled by the Corporate Support Division to the Permit Management Division, and the Permit Management Division also took over all administrative work except for permit work and the role of communication channel with permit design companies. A separate task force team was also newly established to eradicate indiscriminate illegal landfill activities. The purpose is to efficiently utilize limited professional manpower by allowing permit 1.2.3 and permit work staff to focus solely on permits.
2.5.7 The ultimate goal of implementing the system is to improve citizen convenience through faster and simpler permits and licenses, as well as to increase trust in the administration.
Mayor Kim Kyung-il found the source of trust in the city administration in communication with citizens. The city believes that efforts to reflect the voices of citizens are essential in the process of innovating the permit administration, and is promoting the so-called ‘2.5.7 Plus of Communication and Cooperation’, which further advances the 2.5.7 system by adding various measures to this end, and is further accelerating the innovation of permit administration.
■ ‘2.5.7 Plus of Communication and Cooperation’ for Administrative Trust Plus and Citizen Convenience Plus
As a first step, the city plans to conduct a quarterly survey of building owners (applicants) to listen to citizens’ opinions and actively reflect them in improving permits. In addition, since April, a permit information sharing bulletin board has been opened on the official Paju City website, and a booklet has been published that explains the complex and difficult permit administration in an easy-to-understand manner. This provides basic knowledge of related laws and regulations as well as the latest information on permits that are constantly changing, allowing for quick responses to new administrative services.
In order to eliminate the possibility of distortion or misunderstanding of information delivered to the complainant through the agency, the direct communication system between the city and the citizens was fully implemented starting in July. Even in cases where a permit application is entrusted to an agency, the city directly informs the complainant, such as the building owner, of the permit application status and any supplementary items, from the permit application stage, thereby increasing the transparency of the work process.
The importance of smooth communication and cooperation with civil affairs agencies that act as agents for permits and directly interact with citizens cannot be overlooked. Paju City is leading the ‘Permit Plus of Communication and Cooperation’ by holding regular meetings with architects, surveyors, designers, and other business associates to share new laws and guidelines, and actively collecting opinions on inconveniences in the field due to unreasonable regulations and for system improvement.
There is no shortage of support to improve the convenience of agency work. The city has compiled frequently pointed out supplementary points in the licensing process by sector, such as development, mountains, farmland, and construction, so that surveyors and architectural designers can refer to them from the drawing stage, and has disseminated them to agencies, thereby reducing repeated mistakes and enhancing the substance of licensing work. A list of all licensing inspection items by sector has also been released, so that high-quality design documents can be created and the efficiency of licensing processing can be increased.
Paju City is also implementing institutional measures to demand higher professionalism and accountability from agencies. Last year, when the so-called “soonsal apartment” faulty construction problem was causing a huge stir in the construction industry and local communities, Paju City led the revision of the ordinance to expand the on-site investigation, inspection, and confirmation obligations of architects, which were previously only applied to complaints related to building permits, to complaints related to building reports. This is part of an effort to block illegal elements that threaten the safety of citizens in advance by legislating responsibility and obligations for the quality and safety of buildings, not only in large-scale development projects but also in small-scale construction.
■ “Innovation in licensing is innovation that will save people’s lives” “We will continue innovation by listening to voices from the field”
A well-built house lasts for a hundred years, and all buildings, whether public or private, work together to form the image of a city and become an important foundation for creating city value. In that sense, permits are the most basic of administrative basics.
Licensing is a matter directly related to citizens’ livelihoods and property rights, and it goes a step further and serves as a driving force for revitalizing the local economy by opening the way for attracting businesses and smoothly promoting local development projects. Licensing innovation is an innovation that ‘saves people’s livelihoods.
Mayor Kim Kyung-il said, “In order to create a Paju city for its citizens, we will listen to the voices of the field, continue to innovate administrative services to maximize citizen convenience, and work to protect the people’s livelihoods in a certain and practical way.”
Economy Queen Reporter Hongmi Kim / Photo Paju City
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2024-07-23 07:26:35