Changwon Special City Mayor Heo Seong-mu Meets with National Assembly Public Administration Committee Chair... Securing Authority for Special City

Heo Seong-mu, Changwon Special City Mayor (left), and Seo Young-kyo, Chairperson of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee. [Image source=Changwon City]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Sang-hyun] Heo Seong-mu, the inaugural mayor of Changwon Special City and the representative chairman of the National Special City Mayors' Council, met with Seo Young-kyo, chairperson of the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee, on the 14th to urge the revision of related laws to secure special authority for special cities with populations over 1 million.

On the second day after the launch of the special city, Mayor Heo met with Chairperson Seo and requested the prompt processing of the amendment to the "Special Act on Decentralization of Local Government and Reorganization of Local Administrative System" (Local Decentralization Act), which is currently under review by the 1st Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee.

The amendment to the Local Decentralization Act was jointly proposed on November 10 last year by National Assembly member Park Wan-su as the main proposer along with four other special city lawmakers. It includes an additional 16 core tasks beyond the existing nine special authorities for metropolitan cities with populations over 1 million.

Among these tasks are seven duties previously decided for transfer by the Autonomy Decentralization Committee, including "development and operation of port facilities at locally managed trade ports" and "participation in the Central Port Policy Deliberation Council."

Mayor Heo plans to firmly establish the process of securing special city authority through the amendment of the Local Decentralization Act, acquiring numerous necessary special authorities such as autonomy over port and logistics policies and powers to foster regional industries.

The amendment to the Local Decentralization Act was submitted to the 1st Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Administrative Safety Committee on the 5th and is currently under review.

Once the Local Decentralization Act is amended, the city will be able to gain authority over establishing regional logistics basic and implementation plans, developing and operating port facilities at locally managed trade ports, and participating in the Central Port Policy Deliberation Council.

Especially from the perspective of Changwon City, which is determined to secure autonomy over port and logistics policies with the launch of the special city, this is a situation where retreat is not an option.

At the meeting with Chairperson Seo Young-kyo, Special City Mayor Heo Seong-mu said, "As of yesterday, Changwon Special City has emerged at the forefront of Korea's history," and requested the National Assembly's support and cooperation, stating, "The National Assembly's help is crucial for the successful establishment of the special city, a new type of local autonomy model."

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