The Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced its key policy directions for 2026, including the establishment of a ‘Citizen Participation Basic Act’, a national communication platform called ‘(Tentative Name) Everyone’s Plaza’, and the designation of ‘National Sovereignty Day’ to honor citizens who defended democratic order. The ministry also plans to resume the Democracy Development Awards suspended since 2023.
To overcome the Seoul-centric structure, the ministry will fully support the launch of an integrated special city with high autonomy, granting it a status equivalent to Seoul and proactively delegating relevant administrative tasks. It will also strengthen institutional support for special autonomous provinces and expand customized exceptions for Gangwon, Jeonbuk, and Jeju Special Autonomous Provinces.
To realize an ‘AI Democratic Government’, the ministry will introduce ‘AI Citizen Secretary’ and ‘AI Government24’, improve the one-stop processing system for civil complaints, and prioritize the improvement of five types of daily life-related complex civil complaints. It will expand the government-wide AI common platform and intelligent work management platform to all central and local governments.
To revitalize local areas, the ministry will fully implement resident autonomy councils, lower the recall voting age from 19 to 18, introduce a ‘differential support index’ based on distance from Seoul and socio-economic development, and revise the regional revitalization fund distribution system to focus on population attraction. It also plans to enact the ‘Social Solidarity Economy Basic Act’ and the ‘Community Basic Act’.