Page 265 - 2018 Defense White Paper

national defense under the goal of “restoring public status through participation and trust.” In

addition, in alignment with the ROK government’s innovation strategy for “participation and
cooperation,” the MND is expanding opportunities for people to participate and express their
opinions in key policymaking processes to increase transparency and trust in defense policies.

Since December 2017, the MND has been holding “National Defense NGO Forums” 22) to
discuss national defense issues with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The MND also
discloses information regarding large-scale projects that affect people’s lives and attract their

keen attention in advance, and expanded the scope of policy tasks subject to disclosure. To
this end, the MND seeks to satisfy the people’s right to know and implement people-friendly
policies.

In addition, the MND has formed and operated the National Defense Human Rights
Monitoring Group, the People’s Participation Group in National Defense Information
Disclosure, and the People’s Design Group. 23) In 2018, the MND expanded the role of Mothers’
Meal Monitoring Group to the monitoring of uniforms so that people can oversee and evaluate

the implementation of the related policies.
In January 2018, the MND held the People’s Proposal Contest for Defense Reform 2.0 to raise

the people’s awareness and form a consensus on Defense Reform 2.0. The contest lasted for 40
days on topics of high interest, including welfare and human rights, and resulted in the selection
of 613 ideas proposed by college students, citizens, and servicemembers.
The MND also held the People’s Grand Debate on National Defense Budget in May 2018 to
Chapter 6
ensure the people’s meaningful participation in the organization of the national defense budget.
The debate saw citizens and servicemembers gathering to discuss the issues proposed by citizens
online. Among the proposals discussed in the debate, the ROK government selected proposals

that particularly attracted keen interest from the people and reflected them in the 2019 national
defense budget.
The MND will continue to provide institutional support to help the people participate in the

policymaking and implementation processes to voice out their opinions.

22) This forum brings MND and NGOs together to identify policy implications and expand
consensus on security issues by sharing information and discussing the related matters.
23) This working group consists of policymakers, citizens, and service designers to develop
and improve public services by employing service design methodologies across the
2018 Defense Budget
policymaking processes. Debate

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