Seoul City Normalization Kickoff...People Power Party Seoul Normalization TF Proposes 10 Ordinance Bills

People Power Party Seoul Normalization TF, Full Review of 12 Years of Seoul City Council Democratic Party Ordinances... Proposes 10 Ordinances, Aiming to Correct All Seoul City Ordinances Within Term

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The People Power Party of the Seoul Metropolitan Council announced on the 17th that the 'Seoul Normalization TF' proposed 10 ordinance amendments and repeals.

The People Power Party Seoul Normalization TF (hereinafter Seoul Normalization TF) was formed last September to comprehensively review and correct abnormal ordinances enacted during the 8th to 10th Seoul Metropolitan Council (June 2010 to May 2022), when the Democratic Party held an absolute majority.

Choi Ho-jung, the representative member of the People Power Party (photo), serves as the head, with Park Sang-hyuk as deputy head. The core members include floor leaders Kim Gil-young, Heo Hoon, Seo Seong-yeol, Jang Tae-yong, Moon Seong-ho, Chae Su-ji, and Hwang Cheol-gyu.

The Seoul Normalization TF first focused on the fact that 291 ordinances were enacted during the 10th Seoul Metropolitan Council, where Democratic Party members accounted for 93%. The council, which has led local autonomy, passed nearly 300 new ordinances, raising suspicions. The members have been reviewing all ordinances in their spare time. As a result, many ordinances included unnecessary committee formations and self-serving private consignment clauses causing budget waste, and some ordinances duplicated existing ones, leading to administrative inefficiency.

Believing there may be more cases, they are currently conducting a comprehensive review of all ordinances enacted during the 12 years when the Democratic Party held the majority. Deputy head Park Sang-hyuk said, “Ordinances serve as the basis for budget allocation. Reviewing ordinances proposed during the Democratic Party’s Seoul Metropolitan Council, we found a pattern of forming committees first, then establishing private consignment and budget support clauses. We will carefully examine whether these projects are truly necessary and fulfill the role of the People Power Party Seoul Metropolitan Council in normalizing Seoul.”

The 10 proposed ordinances include 4 amendments: ▲Partial amendment to the Basic Ordinance on Social Economy ▲Partial amendment to the Ordinance on Use and Management of Seoul-ro 7017 ▲Partial amendment to the Ordinance on Support for Revitalization of Social Housing ▲Partial amendment to the Basic Ordinance on Human Rights of Seoul Citizens; and 6 repeals: ▲Repeal of the Ordinance on Support for Revitalization of Village Communities ▲Repeal of the Ordinance on Support for Village Management Offices ▲Repeal of the Ordinance on Inter-Korean Cultural, Sports, and Tourism Exchange Cooperation ▲Repeal of the Ordinance on Installation and Management of Solar Power Facilities ▲Repeal of the Ordinance on Citizen Participation-type Energy Transition Support ▲Repeal of the Ordinance on Establishment and Operation of the Hope Economy Committee.

The partial amendment to the Basic Ordinance on Social Economy (proposed by Chae Su-ji) converts the Social Economy Committee, which has low necessity for permanent operation, into a non-permanent committee. It also deletes provisions on free lease of public land to social economy enterprises that do not comply with related laws and provisions on terminated projects such as social economy special zones. However, consulting tasks related to the establishment and operation of social economy organizations are retained to preserve the basic intent. Chae Su-ji stated, “It is necessary to revise related provisions for projects that conflict with higher laws or have ended.”

The partial amendment to the Ordinance on Use and Management of Seoul-ro 7017 (proposed by Moon Seong-ho) deletes the clause authorizing private consignment of Seoul-ro 7017 operations. Although Seoul-ro 7017 is a project for operating and managing the Seoul Station overpass, which the city can operate, it was outsourced to the private sector. Audit results revealed many issues caused by the operating organization during the project, and Seoul City changed the operation to direct management. The TF proposed the amendment accordingly. Moon Seong-ho said, “As the operation method changes to direct city management, we intend to delete the clause authorizing private consignment.”

The partial amendment to the Ordinance on Support for Revitalization of Social Housing (proposed by Hwang Cheol-gyu) was proposed to strengthen systematic rental management and tenant protection. The amendment converts the permanently operating Social Housing Committee into a non-permanent one to increase flexibility in agenda submission. It also allows experts from the city council, tenants, and academia to participate in the evaluation committee and expands the evaluation authority from the mayor to district heads and the Seoul Housing and Communities Corporation. Submission of evaluation data by social economy entities is also mandated to strengthen monitoring. Hwang Cheol-gyu said, “The purpose is to enhance systematic rental management, tenant protection, and the effectiveness of operational evaluations for social housing.”

The partial amendment to the Basic Ordinance on Human Rights of Seoul Citizens (proposed by Heo Hoon) separates the Citizen Human Rights Protection Officer and the Relief Committee to increase committee neutrality and promote citizen human rights. The existing ordinance allowed the investigator to participate as a deliberation member, affecting objectivity. The amendment adds relief for human rights violations to the mayor’s role, strengthening citizen rights protection in case of human rights infringement. Heo Hoon explained, “Separating the protection officer and relief committee will enhance objectivity in decisions and contribute to improving citizen human rights.”

The repeal of the Ordinance on Support for Revitalization of Village Communities (proposed by Park Sang-hyuk) abolishes the ordinance that has become an ATM for specific organizations. For 10 years, Seoul City supported village community projects in autonomous districts through this ordinance. There were controversies about benefits concentrating on specific groups and criticisms that the projects did not fit district realities. Park Sang-hyuk said, “By proposing the repeal, we aim to increase objectivity in village community projects and promote district-led village projects instead of city-led top-down support.”

The repeal of the Ordinance on Support for Village Management Offices (proposed by Seo Seong-yeol) was proposed as the pilot project ended. Since facilities like parking lots managed by village management offices are overseen by districts, village management offices should operate according to each district’s circumstances. The project was also criticized for budget favoritism toward specific groups without evaluation and for overlapping with other city projects like the Seoul Beautiful House Project and Alleyway Regeneration Project. Seo Seong-yeol explained, “Considering the similarity in purpose and potential budget overlap, we aim to ensure policy consistency and uniformity.”

Additionally, the Seoul Normalization TF unified overlapping ordinances to implement efficient and balanced policies.

The repeal of the Ordinance on Inter-Korean Cultural, Sports, and Tourism Exchange Cooperation (proposed by Jang Tae-yong) was proposed due to overlap with the Inter-Korean Exchange Cooperation Ordinance. The current ordinance covers culture, sports, academic, and economic fields, but its effectiveness has been questioned. Seoul City also downsized the Inter-Korean Cooperation Promotion Team from a bureau to a division following changes in inter-Korean relations, highlighting the need for ordinance revision. Jang Tae-yong said, “We judged the current ordinance to be ineffective and propose its repeal.”

The repeal of the Ordinance on Installation and Management of Solar Power Facilities (proposed by Kim Gil-young) was proposed due to overlap with the existing Seoul Energy Ordinance. The solar power facility ordinance was enacted to regulate all city authority matters but was criticized for redundancy. Kim Gil-young said, “Since the Seoul Energy Ordinance includes provisions on solar power facility installation and management, we propose repeal.”

The repeal of the Ordinance on Citizen Participation-type Energy Transition Support (proposed by Park Sang-hyuk) aims for efficient and balanced support of new and renewable energy tasks. The ordinance was enacted to increase citizen participation opportunities in renewable energy transition projects but overlaps with the Seoul Energy Ordinance, necessitating unification. Park Sang-hyuk said, “Since the Seoul Energy Ordinance includes citizen participation and energy community support, unifying ordinances will enable efficient operations.”

The repeal of the Ordinance on Establishment and Operation of the Hope Economy Committee (proposed by Seo Ho-yeon) was proposed to achieve ordinance goals and abolish unnecessary committees. The Hope Economy Committee was established to guarantee citizen participation in economic policy development and provide advice on regional economic policies but has been effectively disbanded since its last subcommittee meeting in November 2019. The committee did not hold any meetings for a year, and the city announced plans for its abolition. Seo Ho-yeon said, “Due to goal achievement and decreased necessity from changing circumstances, committee abolition is necessary.”

Choi Ho-jung, head of the Seoul Normalization TF, said, “The 10 years of Seoul city administration and 12 years of the Seoul Metropolitan Council led by the Democratic Party have abnormalized Seoul, and Seoul citizens have borne the brunt. We aim to continuously propose ‘normalization ordinances’ every session and correct all within our term.”

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