Seoul Metropolitan Council, Closing of the 291st Extraordinary Session

Shin Won-cheol, Chair of Seoul Metropolitan Council, "Seoul Council will do its best until the day citizens' daily lives return to peace"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Seoul Metropolitan Council (Chairman Shin Won-chul) held the 291st extraordinary session for 15 days starting from February 21 and closed it on the 6th.

In particular, during this extraordinary session, the scheduled city administration questions were canceled to allow the executive branch to respond swiftly to COVID-19, and were replaced with urgent questions related to COVID-19 quarantine and livelihood measures. The agendas of each standing committee were minimized and proceeded accordingly.

During this extraordinary session, a total of 81 agenda items were reviewed by the standing committees and approved in the plenary session.

Among them, 6 agenda items were processed to actively respond to COVID-19, with the main contents as follows.

① Partial Amendment to the Seoul Metropolitan Shared Property and Goods Management Ordinance (Proposed by the Chairman of the Administrative Autonomy Committee)

When an infectious disease crisis alert is issued at a serious level, a proviso is newly established to allow temporary reduction of lease fees for tenants of shared property (Article 26, Paragraph 1 proviso newly established).

② Proposal to Urge the Seoul Metropolitan Mayor to Prepare a Supplementary Budget and Support Measures Such as Local Tax Reduction to Strengthen the COVID-19 Quarantine System and Overcome the Regional Economic Crisis (Proposed by the Chairman of the Planning and Economy Committee)

Urging the Seoul Metropolitan Mayor to prepare a supplementary budget and provide support such as local tax reductions to strengthen the COVID-19 quarantine system and overcome the regional economic crisis.

③ Proposal to Urge Support for Reducing Rent Burden for Small Business Owners Affected by COVID-19 (Proposed by the Chairman of the Planning and Economy Committee)

Urging the Seoul Metropolitan Mayor to implement temporary rent reductions and payment deferrals for small business owners at facilities operated by Seoul City and its affiliated organizations, and to support measures to spread rent reduction campaigns among private building owners.

④ Partial Amendment to the Seoul Metropolitan Ordinance for the Protection of Commercial Tenants (Proposed by the Chairman of the Planning and Economy Committee)

Encouraging the conclusion of win-win agreements such as rent reductions in case of disasters and establishing grounds for support for landlords and tenants (Article 5-2 newly established).

⑤ Partial Amendment to the Seoul Metropolitan Ordinance on the Prevention and Management of Infectious Diseases (Proposed by the Chairman of the Health and Welfare Committee)

When establishing infectious disease prevention and management implementation plans, newly adding provisions regarding stockpiling and management of medicines and equipment for infectious disease preparedness (Article 6, Paragraph 2, Item 6).

Conducting surveys to grasp the management and actual conditions of infectious diseases and publicly announcing the results (Article 9, Paragraph 1).

Adding a provision for the mayor to appoint quarantine officers among affiliated public officials (Article 21).

Regarding epidemiological investigators, at least one must be appointed as a medical doctor under the Medical Service Act (Article 22, Paragraph 1).

Allowing the mayor to request location information of infectious disease patients and those suspected of infection from the National Police Agency and local police agencies to prevent and block the spread of infectious diseases (Article 32 newly established).

⑥ Proposal to Amend Related Laws to Reduce Lease Fees for Shared Properties Such as Underground Shopping Malls in Case of Disaster (Proposed by the Chairman of the Urban Safety and Construction Committee)

Requesting the addition of “when facing significant business difficulties due to natural disasters or other disasters” to the current lease fee reduction regulations.

Chairman Shin Won-chul concluded by expressing gratitude to Mayor Park Won-soon, Superintendent of Education Jo Hee-yeon, related officials of Seoul City and Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, and those working hard on the field, stating, “The Seoul Metropolitan Council will do its best until the day the daily lives of citizens return to normal.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.