Amendment to the National Sports Promotion Act 'Backtracks' on Local Autonomy and Decentralization

National Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads Issues Statement on 24th Declaring Mandatory Support for Local Sports Council Operating Expenses by Local Governments as Deterioration and Violation of Basic Principles of Local Autonomy

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The National Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads (Representative Chairman Hwang Myung-seon, Mayor of Nonsan) recently issued a statement on the 24th urging the maintenance of the current legal provisions regarding the recently proposed "Partial Amendment to the National Sports Promotion Act" at the National Assembly.

This is a joint response from the nationwide mayors, county governors, and district heads who expressed opposition to the legal amendment mandating local governments to support the operating expenses of local sports councils.

The National Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads stated that local governments, based on democratic legitimacy, have the authority to allocate and grant subsidies at their discretion. If the amendment mandates operating expense support only for specific sports organizations, it could limit the autonomy of local finances, increase financial burdens, and undermine the fundamental principles of local autonomy, which are 'decentralization' and 'autonomy.'

They also argued that if operating expense support becomes mandatory under the amendment, local governments would have no means to sanction in cases of ineligible use of funds, which conflicts with the current provisions of the "Local Finance Act."

The association pointed out that there is also an issue of fairness compared to other corporations and organizations in different fields where operating expenses are supported on a discretionary basis.

Representative Chairman Hwang Myung-seon expressed concern, stating, "Despite changes such as the introduction of elected local sports councils and the corporatization of sports councils, local governments across cities, counties, and districts are doing their best to provide administrative and financial support to promote residents' health. From the perspective of supporting the role of local governments, mandating operating expense support for local sports councils is by no means desirable."

The partial amendment to the National Sports Promotion Act (proposed by Representative Lee Yong) primarily changes the current provision in Article 18, Paragraph 3, which states that local governments "may subsidize" operating expenses of local sports councils, to "shall support" them, making it mandatory. The bill was submitted to the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee and was presented at the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on May 20, but due to opposition from local governments and other disagreements, it has not been passed and remains pending in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

The National Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads plans to actively respond by visiting the Legislation and Judiciary Committee to submit opposition opinions regarding the bill.

[Statement from Nationwide Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads]

We oppose the "National Sports Promotion Act Amendment" that undermines local government autonomy and contradicts the principles of local autonomy.

Recently, the National Assembly proposed the "Partial Amendment to the National Sports Promotion Act," which mandates local governments to support the operating expenses of local sports councils. The bill has passed the relevant standing committee (Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee) and is currently under review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

However, as frontline local governments of cities, counties, and districts responsible for local administration and decentralization, we declare the following position that it is difficult to accept the bill, which mandates obligatory operating expense support for local sports councils, due to several issues.

First, the bill does not conform to the fundamental principles of local autonomy, which emphasize 'decentralization' and 'autonomy.'

Local governments, endowed with democratic legitimacy, have the authority to allocate and grant subsidies based on autonomous discretion and judgment related to their duties. However, if the bill mandates operating expense support only for specific sports organizations, it would restrict the autonomy of local finances considering regional characteristics and financial conditions, increase the financial burden on local governments, and risk undermining the fundamental principles of local autonomy, which are 'decentralization' and 'autonomy.'

Second, the bill may cause conflicts with existing laws related to local subsidies, potentially violating legal consistency among statutes.

The current "Local Finance Act" and "Act on the Management of Subsidies for Local Governments" stipulate provisions for canceling subsidy decisions and excluding subsidy projects in cases of legal violations. However, if the bill mandates operating expense support for local sports councils, it would conflict with the provisions of the Local Subsidy Act regarding the return and sanctions for ineligible subsidies, and could limit the control and management of subsidies to sports councils. This contradicts the purpose of the Local Subsidy Act, which aims for transparent and proper management of local subsidies.

Third, the bill may cause fairness issues with other corporations and organizations in different fields.

Currently, operating expenses for corporations and organizations in various fields such as culture, tourism, and sports are all supported on a discretionary basis, and there is no case where operating expense support is mandated only for specific organizations. The same applies to operating expense support for organizations established and operated under other laws, such as the Korea Freedom Federation or Saemaul Undong-related organizations. If the bill is enacted and enforced, it could lead to fairness and preferential treatment controversies with other corporations, organizations, or other sports organizations. Especially if these organizations demand the same support as local sports councils, it would cause confusion in local administration and financial management, ultimately increasing the burden on residents, which is clearly evident.

Since the amendment to the National Sports Promotion Act in December 2018, which prohibited local government heads from concurrently serving as heads of local sports councils and introduced the election of council heads, the era of elected local sports councils has arrived. Furthermore, from June this year, local sports councils are planned to be corporatized and restructured. Amid these changes, local governments across cities, counties, and districts are doing their best to provide administrative and financial support to promote residents' health and guarantee the autonomy and independence of local sports councils. From the perspective of supporting the role of local governments, mandating local government support for operating expenses of local sports councils is by no means desirable.

Therefore, the National Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads strongly urges reconsideration of Article 18, Paragraph 3 of the "Partial Amendment to the National Sports Promotion Act," which risks undermining the fundamental principles of local autonomy such as 'decentralization' and 'autonomy,' and causing issues of fairness and legal consistency, and strongly recommends maintaining the current legal provisions to the National Assembly.

May 24, 2021

National Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads

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