The 10th Seoul Metropolitan Council Second Half Local Decentralization TF Official Launch

Urging Each Party Leadership to Realize Decentralization... Promoting Passage of the Entire Local Autonomy Act Amendment Bill within the Year... Strengthening Local Council Structure and Capacity as per Moon Jae-in Government's Decentralization Roadmap

Chairman Kim In-ho

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim Jeong-tae, head of the Seoul Metropolitan Council Local Autonomy Task Force (Yeongdeungpo 2, Democratic Party), announced the launch of the ‘10th Seoul Metropolitan Council Second Half Local Autonomy Task Force,’ stating that it will play a leading role in achieving substantial local autonomy.

The Seoul Metropolitan Council Local Autonomy Task Force, established on October 31, 2016, as the first official dedicated local autonomy body within a local council, has proposed seven major local autonomy tasks, held forums to realize local autonomy, passed resolutions on local self-government and local autonomy through joint initiatives by all council members, held press briefings on local autonomy promotion, launched a 10 million signature campaign for constitutional amendment on local autonomy, co-proposed the Local Council Act to the National Assembly, held expert roundtable discussions on local autonomy, passed resolutions for self-purification efforts to strengthen accountability and integrity of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, and promoted these efforts nationwide, demonstrating bipartisan cooperation and a strong commitment to advancing local autonomy.

Kim In-ho, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, said, “In line with the social atmosphere regarding local autonomy, including the proposal of the Local Council Act and amendments to the Local Autonomy Act, we plan to newly organize and operate the 10th Seoul Metropolitan Council Second Half Local Autonomy Task Force to achieve substantial local autonomy. Following the first half of the 10th Seoul Metropolitan Council, Kim Jeong-tae, who has been appointed again as the head of the Local Autonomy Task Force in the second half, is a three-term council member with a deep understanding of local autonomy and a strong will to establish institutional foundations for realizing self-governance. We have formed the Local Autonomy Task Force with members who share this commitment, and I believe they will resolve the long-standing issues of local councils,” he added.

The 10th Seoul Metropolitan Council Second Half Local Autonomy Task Force members include Kim Jeong-tae (Democratic Party, Yeongdeungpo 2) as head, Yoo Yong (Democratic Party, Dongjak 4) and Sung Joong-ki (United Future Party, Gangnam 1) as vice heads, along with council members Ko Byung-guk (Democratic Party, Jongno 1), Kim Jong-mu (Democratic Party, Gangdong 2), Kim Ho-pyeong (Democratic Party, Gwangjin 3), Lee Jun-hyung (Democratic Party, Gangdong 1), Jung Jin-sul (Democratic Party, Mapo 3), Choi Jeong-soon (Democratic Party, Seongbuk 2), and Han Ki-young (Democratic Party, proportional representation), totaling 10 council members. Additionally, five external experts including Ko Kyung-hoon, associate researcher at the Korea Institute of Local Administration; Professor Kim Tae-young of Kyung Hee University’s Department of Public Administration; Professor So Soon-chang of Konkuk University’s College of Public Affairs; lawyer Yoo Jin-hee of Law Firm Hwasu; and Professor Choi Young-jin of Chung-Ang University’s Department of Political Science and International Relations, as well as four public officials including legislative policy advisors, make up a total of 19 members.

Team Leader Kim Jeong-tae

Head Kim Jeong-tae set the three main goals of the 10th Seoul Metropolitan Council Second Half Local Autonomy Task Force as “First, to drive local autonomy promotion plans by the leadership of each political party; second, to pass the full revision of the Local Autonomy Act in the National Assembly within the year; third, to promote policies to strengthen the structure and capabilities of local councils as part of the Moon Jae-in administration’s local autonomy roadmap,” pledging to “do our utmost to realize these three goals.”

He especially stated, “Regarding key issues currently under active discussion, such as the introduction of policy support specialists within the fixed number of metropolitan council members and the independence of personnel authority, we plan to engage in in-depth discussions with party leaderships, the National Assembly, and the executive branch, and to actively and systematically respond by continuously communicating with the media and civic groups to build public consensus.”

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