Changwon City Council Launches Preparatory Team for Special City Inauguration

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju Cheol-in] The Changwon City Council in Gyeongnam announced on the 16th that it has launched the ‘Changwon Special City Launch Preparation Team’ and held its first meeting on the 15th.

The preparation team will identify various special city tasks and ensure that newly introduced systems from last year’s revision of the Local Autonomy Act, such as the independence of personnel authority for local councils, are well established at the council level.

They will also form a consultative body with the councils of Suwon, Goyang, and Yongin, which have been designated as special cities, to conduct joint research projects. The preparation team consists of 15 members, including the council officer in charge as the head, four officials from the city council secretariat, and staff from standing committees.

Chairman Lee Chi-woo said, “The Changwon City Council must secure the status of a special city council that is differentiated from basic councils and equivalent to metropolitan councils, while simultaneously preparing for the independence of personnel authority. Unlike the three special cities of Suwon, Yongin, and Goyang, Changwon must consider various historical and regional specificities such as the integration of three cities, urban-rural complexes, and maritime ports. Although difficulties are expected in this process, if the preparation team addresses the given tasks according to the annual plan, the objectives can be fully achieved.”

A special city is a new type of local government for large cities with a population of over one million, which maintains the status of a basic local government while having more administrative and financial authority appropriate to the size of the city.

According to the revised Local Autonomy Act, which passed the National Assembly in December last year and was promulgated by the government in January, four large cities with populations over one million?Suwon (1.19 million), Goyang (1.07 million), Yongin (1.06 million) in Gyeonggi Province, and Changwon (1.04 million) in Gyeongnam?will become special cities starting January 13, 2022. Prior to the council, the Changwon Special City Preparation Team was launched on the 1st of this month.

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