Amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Local Autonomy Act, Full-Scale Promotion of Follow-Up Measures for 'Autonomous Decentralization 2.0'

Regulations on Special Cases for Si/Gun/Gu and Policy Support Specialists for Local Councils... Legislative Notice

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[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] In the future, special provisions can be established for cities, counties, and districts considering practical administrative demands, and policy support officers will be assigned to support the legislative activities of local council members. Autonomy decentralization 2.0 will be actively promoted, including residents' participation in the process of changing jurisdictional boundaries of local governments that do not align with living areas.

On the 26th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety announced that it has prepared the "Enforcement Decree of the Local Autonomy Act (complete revision draft)" containing these details and will begin a 40-day legislative notice period starting from the 27th.

This complete revision draft of the Enforcement Decree of the Local Autonomy Act was prepared to stipulate matters delegated by the fully revised Local Autonomy Act, which will take effect on January 13 next year.

With the establishment of a legal basis in the Local Autonomy Act allowing the Minister of the Interior and Safety to designate cities, counties, and districts with special provisions under related laws, the decree stipulates the criteria and procedures for such designation by the Minister. When a city, county, or district discovers necessary authorities for responding to practical administrative demands or for specialized development based on regional conditions and applies for designation, the Minister of the Interior and Safety designates the relevant city, county, or district as eligible for special provisions after deliberation by the Local Government Special Provisions Deliberation Committee. For metropolitan cities with a population of over 1 million (special cities), eight administrative authorities specified as special provisions in related laws are enumerated in the Enforcement Decree of the Local Autonomy Act as an appendix.

The decree also specifically regulates the title, duties, and placement of policy support professionals who assist local council members in their legislative activities. The title of these policy support professionals is set as ‘Policy Support Officer,’ who will assist local council members in collecting legislative materials, conducting investigations, and research, while restricting council members from instructing Policy Support Officers on private affairs. Policy Support Officers will be assigned to committees or secretariats according to ordinances, allowing autonomous operation tailored to the circumstances of local councils.

As the procedure for changing jurisdictional boundaries of local governments to resolve residents' inconveniences is newly established in the Local Autonomy Act, the decree stipulates matters related to reasons for boundary change adjustment applications and the operation of autonomous boundary change councils. It specifies the reasons for boundary change adjustment applications by reviewing cases where actual boundary adjustments are necessary, ensures that residents and experts constitute more than half of the ‘Autonomous Boundary Change Council,’ and mandates conducting surveys and public hearings to ensure boundary adjustments are based on residents' opinions.

Additionally, residents' audit requests can be submitted using electronic signature methods via information systems, and related regulations have been revised following the separation of personnel authority in local councils, reflecting detailed matters arising from amendments to the Local Autonomy Act.

Minister Jeon Hae-cheol stated, “This complete revision draft of the Enforcement Decree of the Local Autonomy Act is significant as it contains provisions to actively promote Autonomy Decentralization 2.0, including resident participation and strengthening the role of local councils,” adding, “We will collect opinions raised during the legislative notice and consultation period with related agencies and complete the revision process of the enforcement decree without any setbacks.”

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