Kim Oksu, Gwangju Seo-gu Council Member: "The Government Should Take the Lead on Local Councilors' Overseas Training Plans"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kim Oksu, a member of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Seo-gu Council, proposed improvement measures for overseas training of local council members to the government.

Kim attended the Local Council Innovation Roundtable Discussion hosted by the ‘2020 Korea Policy Convention & Festival Organizing Committee’ on the 6th and 7th, stating that the government should take the lead in selecting institutions for overseas training of local council members to ensure activities align with the original purpose of the training.

He said, “A total of 4,016 elected officials are chosen every four years through local elections in 243 local governments, including 17 metropolitan entities and 226 basic entities, and an annual budget of 2.5 million to 3 million KRW per person is allocated for overseas training. Calculated at an average of 2.8 million KRW, the total reaches 11.25 billion KRW. When combined with 350 million KRW for five public officials per local government at an average budget of 2.5 million KRW, a total of 14.5 billion KRW of taxpayers’ money is allocated annually as a continuous policy project cost,” he explained.

He continued, “However, since the selection of countries and cities for each training theme is independently pursued by local councils, there are criticisms that the training is more of a leisure trip, leading to arguments about the ineffectiveness of local councils. To address this, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety should establish a dedicated department to assist in matching nation-to-nation and institution-to-institution exchanges,” he asserted.

There are limitations in planning and implementing training within local councils.

On that day, Kim presented exemplary cases such as ▲leading a lawsuit against the state in solidarity with residents affected by military airport noise, winning 70 billion KRW after 12 years ▲representing the proposal of the ‘Large-scale Store Opening Regulation Ordinance’ opposing the construction of the Shinsegae Department Store complex shopping mall in solidarity with small business owners in Gwangju ▲pointing out illegal administration by Seo-gu and LH with residents affected by the Hwajeong 2 District residential environment improvement project, resulting in a Supreme Court victory.

Kim added, “With overseas training for local council members expected to be difficult this year and next due to COVID-19, now is the optimal time to establish policies. Government support is necessary to prevent the annual large amounts of taxpayers’ money from being wasted.”

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