If Detained, 'Council Member Allowance' Will Not Be Given... Daegu City Council Decides to Suspend Incarcerated Duty Allowance for the First Time

Scheduled for plenary session on the 24th, retroactive payment if acquitted confirmed

Daegu Metropolitan Council will be the first among local government metropolitan councils to suspend the monthly allowance payment for detained local council members.

The Operations Committee of Daegu Metropolitan Council (Chairman Jeon Gyeong-won) unanimously adopted the “Ordinance on the Payment of Council Members' Legislative Activity Expenses, etc. of Daegu Metropolitan Council - Complete Amendment Ordinance” at the 299th extraordinary session, which restricts the payment of monthly allowances when a council member is detained and prosecuted.

According to the Local Autonomy Act, local council members receive monthly legislative activity expenses, which cover costs for collecting legislative materials and research activities, as well as a monthly allowance as compensation for their duties.

However, under the current Daegu city ordinance, payment of legislative activity expenses is restricted when a member is detained and prosecuted, making legislative activities fundamentally impossible, but there are no special provisions regarding the monthly allowance, which has been pointed out as a problem.

Additionally, in December last year, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission recommended 243 local councils nationwide to establish related regulations by the end of this year, sending the “Measures to Prevent Wasteful Spending of Legislative Expenses for Local Council Members,” which includes restrictions on monthly allowance payments during imprisonment.

Considering various circumstances comprehensively, Daegu Metropolitan Council prepared this amendment starting with gathering opinions from the Ethics Special Committee on the 3rd, followed by review and proposals from the Operations Committee. It is the first metropolitan council nationwide to include regulations restricting monthly allowance payments in an ordinance.

According to the amended ordinance, Article 4 on restrictions of payment of legislative activity expenses, if a member is detained and prosecuted, legislative activity expenses and monthly allowances will not be paid from the day of detention. However, if the member is acquitted by a court ruling, the unpaid legislative activity expenses and monthly allowances will be paid retroactively.

This amendment will be submitted to the plenary session on the 24th and, if passed, will be enforced immediately from the date of promulgation.

Jeon Gyeong-won, Chairman of the Operations Committee of Daegu Metropolitan Council, explained, “We fully empathize with the concerns raised by civil society and the media regarding the payment of allowances to detained council members, and to resolve this issue, the chairman and council members united their will to amend the related ordinance.”

Ordinance on the Payment of Legislative Activity Expenses for Members of the Daegu Metropolitan City Council - Complete Amendment Ordinance Proposal.

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