Heo Seong-mu Administration Achieves Special City Status, Smoothly Securing Metropolitan-Level Authority... Final Passage of 'Local Autonomy Act' Amendment

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Ju-cheol In] Changwon City, the only special city outside the metropolitan area, is making smooth progress in securing authority equivalent to that of a metropolitan city.

On the 5th, Changwon City in Gyeongnam announced that the “Special Act on Decentralization of Local Government and Reorganization of Local Administrative System (Local Decentralization Act) Partial Amendment Bill,” which additionally grants special administrative privileges to four special cities nationwide, has passed the National Assembly plenary session.

Accordingly, although these authorities previously belonged exclusively to metropolitan local governments, special cities can now handle these affairs, enabling the establishment of urban plans tailored to regional characteristics and the provision of efficient administrative services.

At the end of last year, two amendment bills jointly proposed by members of the National Assembly from the special cities (Changwon, Suwon, Yongin, Goyang) were finally approved after going through the full meeting of the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee on February 9 and the systematic and textual review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 4th.

The original amendment included transferring 159 unit tasks across 16 core functions, but the processed alternative reduced the scope of special administrative privileges.

The special administrative tasks newly authorized for special cities include 121 unit tasks under six core functions previously performed by metropolitan local governments.

The amendment to the Local Decentralization Act passed by the National Assembly on this day includes transferring six functions and their corresponding 121 tasks to special cities, such as “Development and operation of port facilities in locally managed trade ports,” “Management of public waters within port areas of locally managed trade ports,” “Mountain area use permits,” “Affairs related to environmental improvement charges,” “Formation and operation of local construction technology review committees,” and “Development and operation of logistics complexes.”

A Changwon City official explained, “In particular, the 101 tasks related to ports and logistics complexes are significant because they apply only to Changwon among the four special cities, as it is the only one with a coastline.”

Thus, Changwon Special City has become the only basic local government nationwide to secure autonomous development and management authority over a locally managed trade port (Jinhae Port).

Mayor Heo Seong-mu of Changwon said, “This legal amendment represents a bold step toward decentralization, ensuring the successful establishment of special cities and, furthermore, creating a new turning point for the development of local autonomy in the Republic of Korea.”

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