Launch of Administrative Coordination Committee, Actively Mediating Central-Local Conflicts

Plan to Improve System Including Expansion of Private Committee Members and Granting Eligibility for Public Institution Adjustment Requests

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] The Administrative Coordination and Adjustment Committee, which mediates conflicts between central and local governments, has been newly launched with enhanced functions.

On the 22nd, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that the 11th Administrative Coordination and Adjustment Committee will hold its first meeting on the 23rd, along with a commissioning ceremony for four civilian members. This time, the system will be improved to allow the committee to play a more active role by expanding civilian members and granting public institutions the right to apply for coordination.

The committee is an organization under the Prime Minister that mediates and coordinates when there are differing opinions between central administrative agencies and local governments in handling affairs. The committee consists of a chairman, four civilian members, ex officio members including the Minister of Strategy and Finance, the Minister of the Interior and Safety, the Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, the Chief of the Legislation Office, and 2 to 5 appointed members designated by the chairman from heads of central administrative agencies related to the agenda and mayors or governors.

Professor Ha Hye-su of the Department of Public Administration at Kyungpook National University was appointed as the chairman of the 11th committee. Chairman Ha completed her doctoral course in Public Administration at Seoul National University and has served as the president of the Korea Institute of Local Administration, the president of the Korean Association for Local Government Studies, and the chairman of the Daegu City Conflict Deliberation Committee. Civilian members appointed, considering their academic knowledge and experience in local autonomy and conflict management, include Yoon Bong-geun, former chairman of the National Council of City and Provincial Councils, Lim Seon-sook, former president of the Gwangju Bar Association, and Lee Young-ae, professor of Public Policy at Dankook University.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety plans to enhance the professionalism and fairness of the committee’s deliberations and strengthen its coordination functions. At the first meeting held alongside the commissioning ceremony of the 11th civilian members, the committee will review and approve amendments to the Administrative Coordination and Adjustment Committee Operating Rules.

The amendments will allow external experts to participate in working-level coordination meetings by agenda, and establish a basis for the committee to recommend dispute resolution applications to related agencies in cases where public interest is significantly impaired or rapid coordination is necessary. Additionally, a revision bill to the Local Autonomy Act, including provisions to strengthen the committee’s functions, will be submitted to the National Assembly in the first half of the year.

The amendment will include expanding civilian members to enhance the committee’s representativeness by including nominees from the four major local government councils, allowing public institutions to apply for coordination to facilitate smooth conflict resolution between public institutions and local governments, and imposing an obligation on related agencies to establish implementation plans for the committee’s coordination results.

Lee Jae-young, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, said, “If conflicts during policy implementation are prolonged, they cause enormous social costs and hinder social integration. We expect the newly launched Administrative Coordination and Adjustment Committee to perform fair and prompt mediation and coordination among stakeholders.”

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