Seoul Metropolitan Council Announces Recruitment for First Open-Position Council Secretariat Chief

Chairman Kim In-ho: "Next Year is the First Year of Change, Autonomous Decentralization Talents Needed to Drive the Independence and Expertise of the City Council"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The Seoul Metropolitan Council (Chairman Kim In-ho) is conducting a recruitment for the first open-position Chief Secretary of the Council Secretariat.

The announcement is currently ongoing, and applications will be accepted from October 8 to October 15.

The full revision of the Local Autonomy Act, which includes provisions for the independence of personnel authority in local councils nationwide and the introduction of specialized policy support personnel, passed the National Assembly on December 9 last year for the first time in 32 years and will be enforced from January 13 next year.

In preparation for the enforcement of the revised Local Autonomy Act, the Seoul Metropolitan Council announced that it will first proceed with the recruitment of an open-position Chief Secretary of the Council Secretariat to achieve efficient organizational restructuring and strengthen autonomy.

The Chief Secretary of the Seoul Metropolitan Council Secretariat assists the Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council and handles the council’s affairs under the Chairman’s orders. To enable the Seoul Metropolitan Council to conduct more independent and professional legislative activities, the Chief Secretary supports overall legislative tasks such as legislation, budget and settlement review, and policy research, oversees organizational management and administrative operations, and commands and supervises affiliated staff.

Above all, as this is a crucial time to establish institutional foundations to strengthen the independence of local councils, it is necessary to review and implement the reorganization of the Council Secretariat’s personnel system and the introduction of specialized policy support personnel, promote the enactment and revision of laws linked to the amended Local Autonomy Act, and simultaneously work on the maintenance of autonomous regulations.

Chairman Kim In-ho stated, “Local councils have the mission to create a new era of decentralized autonomy based on 30 years of legislative experience,” adding, “As the eldest among city and provincial councils nationwide, the Seoul Metropolitan Council has the responsibility to lead proactive and innovative personnel reorganization, and the recruitment of the first open-position Chief Secretary is the first step in that process.”

He also emphasized, “Next year marks the inaugural year of change in the history of local council development, where councils will gain independence and professionalism, making it more necessary than ever to have decentralized autonomy-oriented talents skilled in organizational management and legislative support.”

Chairman Kim further said, “The revised Local Autonomy Act alone cannot be considered true independence of personnel authority; four additional laws related to personnel authority must be amended to secure practical autonomy,” and added, “We await talents who will serve as a bridge between local councils and the central government through smooth communication and cooperation with the central government, which oversees the maintenance of laws related to local councils.”

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