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Seoul YMCA awarded for helping mediate disputes between neighbors
Han Sang-kyu, right, senior executive director of the civil movement headquarters at the Seoul Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA), poses after receiving the Gender Equality and Family Minister award during a ceremony in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Seoul YMCA
By Jun Ji-hye
By Jun Ji-hye
The Seoul Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) received an award from the Minister of Gender Equality and Family, Wednesday, in recognition of its contribution to helping mediate disputes between neighbors and village communities.
The Seoul YMCA set up a neighborhood dispute mediation center within the organization in 2011, which has been expanded around the country including Seoul, Suwon and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province since 2013.
“Neighborhood dispute mediation centers have helped mediate a variety of disputes including apartment noise and water leak issues, parking problems in small villages and location of unpleasant facilities,” Ju Gun-ihl, director of the center at the Seoul YMCA, said during a phone interview with The Korea Times. “Those centers are aiming to help residents develop abilities to resolve disputes on their own, rather than taking the issues to court.”
When a resident takes issue with another and requests assistance with dispute settlement, a coordinator from the center listens to his or her complaints and contacts the other party, who is in dispute with the applicant, to listen to the person's opinions.
After collecting opinions from both sides, coordinators gather to discuss measures to solve the dispute, help the two resolve their misunderstanding and draw up an agreement, according to Ju.
“These procedures are aimed at resolving disputes without taking the issue to a court and are referred to as 'alternative dispute resolution,' which is very common in other developed countries,” Ju said. “As such a concept is comparatively new in Korea, we have been working to promote it here to nurture a better democracy.”