The Incheon Metropolitan Government has selected six winning teams in the ‘2026 Incheon Youth Policy Contest,’ in which young people themselves identify local problems and propose solutions as policy. The ‘Incheon Youth Fair Contract System,’ designed to prevent unfair contracts affecting freelance youth, took the grand prize.
 [코리안투데이] Final presentation review of the 2026 Incheon Youth Policy Contest © 장형임 기자 |
The Incheon Metropolitan Government (Mayor Park Chan-dae) announced that it held the final presentation review of the ‘2026 Incheon Youth Policy Contest’ on September 20 at Wolcheon Hall in the 60th Anniversary Memorial Building of Inha University, selecting six winning teams.
The contest was launched to expand young people’s participation in policymaking and to lay the groundwork for reflecting ideas drawn from everyday life into feasible policies for the city administration. Its significance lies in widening the door so that youth can step forward as agents who create policy, rather than remaining merely its recipients.
The city is pursuing youth policy across five major areas that span all aspects of young people’s lives: employment, education and vocational training, housing, finance/welfare/culture, and participation/infrastructure. This contest focused on raising the effectiveness and tangibility of policy by incorporating youths’ field experience and creative ideas into each of these policy areas.
Applications were accepted from June 1 to June 30, drawing a total of 74 proposals across key policy areas closely tied to young people’s lives. The submitted proposals went through a first-round document review that selected 20 teams, followed by a second review held from September 8 to 14, which confirmed the six finalist teams.
The six policy proposals that reached the finals were: ‘Building QR-based Safe-Welfare Contact Points Linked to Local Infrastructure,’ which improves policy access for isolated and reclusive youth; the ‘Incheon-style Tailored Legalization Project for Non-compliant Housing in University Districts,’ which supports safety improvements and legalization of code-violating housing near campuses; the ‘Incheon Volunteer Mileage’ program, in which youth repeatedly inspect community safety facilities; ‘YouthPlan AI, an Interview-based Youth Resident Participation Tool,’ which gathers young people’s opinions on urban planning through AI interviews; the ‘Incheon Youth Fair Contract System,’ which prevents unfair contracts for freelance youth; and the ‘Citizen-participatory Youth Startup B2C Market Validation Program,’ which supports consumer market testing for early-stage young entrepreneurs.
Rather than simply selecting outstanding ideas, this year’s contest placed weight on the policymaking process, in which young people identify problems and design solutions themselves and then refine feasibility together with experts. At the final presentation review on September 20, the six finalist teams presented their policy proposals in person and held a question-and-answer session with the judges, who determined the rankings through a comprehensive evaluation of each proposal’s necessity, specificity, feasibility, and expected impact.
In the final results, the grand prize (Incheon Metropolitan Mayor’s Award) went to ‘Barun Contract Lab,’ which proposed the ‘Incheon Youth Fair Contract System,’ along with a prize of 4 million won. The top excellence award (Incheon Metropolitan Council Chair’s Award) went to ‘Camp Marketer,’ which proposed the ‘Citizen-participatory Youth Startup B2C Market Validation Program’ (2 million won), and the excellence award (Inha University President’s Award) went to ‘Save Me! Homes,’ which submitted the ‘Incheon-style Tailored Legalization Project for Non-compliant Housing in University Districts’ (1 million won). The encouragement awards (Inha University Regional Cooperation Center Director’s Award) went to three teams — ‘Cheong’ for ‘YouthPlan AI, an Interview-based Youth Resident Participation Tool,’ ‘Let’s Go On’ for ‘Building Safe-Welfare Contact Points,’ and the ‘Youth Urban Safety Inspection Team’ for the ‘Incheon Volunteer Mileage’ — each receiving 200,000 won.
Nam Young-hee, Vice Mayor for Balanced Development, said, ‘The significance of this contest is that young people considered problems they discovered in daily life on their own, developed solutions into concrete policies, and proposed them to the city administration.’ She added, ‘We will continue to expand opportunities for youth to participate as agents in shaping policy, beyond being its beneficiaries, and build a sustainable Incheon where young people grow together and enjoy fair opportunities.’
Meanwhile, the ‘2026 Incheon Youth Policy Contest’ was hosted by the Incheon Metropolitan Government and operated on commission by the Inha University Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation, with a total of 7.6 million won in prize money awarded to the six winning teams.
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