Goyang City Administration Tied Up in City Council

'Budget Proposal' Followed by 'Organizational Restructuring Plan' Also Rejected... Key Projects Face Difficulties
Setback in Organizational Efficiency... Internal Complaints Rise Over Personnel Issues
"City Council Should Not Hamper Administration for Partial Interests"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Following the refusal to review the 2023 budget proposal by Democratic Party Goyang City council members who are in conflict with the mayor’s chief secretary, the city’s organizational restructuring plan was also rejected, making it difficult to advance key projects of Goyang City’s 8th elected administration.

Goyang City is currently operating under a quasi-budget system that allows spending only on minimum expenses such as personnel costs. Approximately 81.1% of the 2023 budget of 2.9963 trillion won is allocated under this quasi-budget system.

Meanwhile, on the 9th, the Goyang City Council rejected the organizational restructuring plan, which was created through research projects conducted since July last year, departmental organizational diagnoses, and interviews with heads of departments, bureau chiefs, and section chiefs.

As a result, there are concerns that public welfare issues will not progress at the expected pace from the beginning of the new year.

Goyang City Hall

According to the city on the 12th, the organizational restructuring plan included the implementation of campaign pledges from the 8th elected administration, organizational restructuring, consolidation and abolition of overlapping and inefficient functions, and separation of oversized departments. It also included the establishment of temporary organizations such as the 'Self-Sufficient City Realization Bureau' and the 'Urban Innovation Bureau' along with personnel increases.

Regarding these matters, the city explained the plan individually to the representatives of both parties in the city council, relevant standing committees, and individual council members starting from October last year.

After a legislative notice in November, the plan was submitted as a city council agenda item, but the council did not review the agenda during the 2nd session (268th and 269th sessions).

Ultimately, the organizational restructuring plan was rejected at the 270th extraordinary session held on the 9th, meaning it failed to pass the council three times in practice.

According to Article 36, Paragraph 3 of the "Regulations on Administrative Organizations and Staffing Standards of Local Governments," local councils are required to process proposed organizations and ordinances as soon as possible to ensure stable and smooth administrative operations.

The 'Self-Sufficient City Realization Bureau,' which was to be newly established through consultation with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety following the city’s promotion to a special city, and the 'Urban Innovation Bureau,' which was to be established as a temporary organization through consultation with Gyeonggi Province, now need to be renegotiated.

In particular, since the 'Self-Sufficient City Realization Bureau' is a strategic department for promoting the Free Economic Zone, there are concerns that it will affect the creation of the Free Economic Zone, which is the 'No. 1 pledge' of the 8th elected administration.

A city official stated, "Due to the rejection of the organizational restructuring plan, key projects planned to be promoted from the new year are drifting, and the organizational atmosphere is unstable. Above all, organizational restructuring is absolutely necessary to be selected as a Free Economic Zone."

Additionally, although the number of personnel to be deployed to eliminate welfare blind spots increased by 41 from 3,403 to 3,444 according to government policy, the rejection of the restructuring plan has caused setbacks in welfare projects as well.

The regular personnel schedule has also become uncertain, causing many employee grievances such as leaves and reinstatements. The scale of promotions and transfers in preparation for organizational restructuring has decreased, increasing dissatisfaction within the public service community.

City officials said in unison, "The disruption of the regular personnel schedule causes difficulties for employees who planned leaves or reinstatements due to personal reasons such as family matters. We hope the organizational restructuring will be completed soon so that the organization can regain stability and employees can perform their original duties."

Citizens aware of the city’s situation criticized, "While the city council’s role is basically to check and monitor, it should not obstruct city administration for the benefit of some."

Meanwhile, during the mourning period for the Itaewon tragedy last year, a dispute arose between Democratic Party Goyang City council members and the mayor’s chief secretary over Mayor Lee Dong-hwan’s overseas business trip.

Democratic Party council members demanded a direct apology from the chief secretary in the plenary session, but after being refused, they refused to attend the assembly, resulting in the failure to review the budget proposal and other matters.

However, some speculate that "council members from both ruling and opposition parties in Deogyang District are using the chief secretary’s apology as a pretext to block the relocation of the city hall to Baekseok-dong."

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