Half of Chungnam Governor's Approval Authority Delegated to Vice Governor and Department Heads

Half of the approval authority of the Chungnam Provincial Governor will be delegated to the Vice Governors and heads of departments, bureaus, offices, and headquarters.

On the 18th, Chungnam Province announced that it has prepared a plan to delegate the governor's authority and plans to implement it starting next month.

The delegation of the governor's authority aims to enhance the autonomy and responsibility of senior officials at the provincial government, respond flexibly to administrative demands, and create a structure where the governor can focus only on key regional issues.

Earlier, Governor Kim Tae-heum of Chungnam expressed this intention at the first meeting of department, bureau, and office heads in the 8th elected term after his inauguration last year.

At that time, Governor Kim said, "The political and administrative vice governors should act like the Prime Minister of the government, and the heads of departments, bureaus, offices, and headquarters should take on the roles of ministers of each ministry in provincial administration."

Also, at the meeting of department, bureau, and office heads in February, he emphasized, "We will significantly delegate institutional and policy authority so that vice governors and heads of departments, bureaus, offices, and headquarters can actively promote major policies with authority and responsibility. However, regardless of the delegation of authority, all responsibility will remain with the governor."

The delegation of the governor's authority is being promoted to distribute the powers held by the governor in provincial administration to practical managers, thereby ensuring both work efficiency and promptness.

Accordingly, starting next month, among 160 provincial affairs requiring the governor's approval under the rules for handling official documents?such as various plans related to provincial administration, personnel, and organization?72 cases (45%) will be delegated to the political and administrative vice governors and heads of departments, bureaus, offices, and headquarters.

The delegated approval authority includes the basic plan for international exchanges, establishment of the basic plan for managing priority tasks, and the publication and promulgation of ordinances and regulations in the provincial gazette.

However, matters closely related to core provincial issues and residents' lives?such as budget drafting, strategies and task discovery and establishment for the special carbon-neutral economy province, establishment and agreements of metropolitan economic administration plans, construction plans for the Bay Valley Megacity, and comprehensive plans for infectious disease prevention and management?will remain within the governor's approval authority.

The province will also delegate policy authority along with the approval authority.

First, the number of committees chaired by the governor will be reduced from the current 36 to 23. Additionally, among the 100 provincial tasks included in this year's priority management targets, the main entity responsible for each task will be designated as either the vice governor or the head of a department, bureau, office, or headquarters depending on the importance of the matter, and a provincial task force (TF) will be organized and operated to manage these tasks.

Along with this, the province will establish a system so that the progress of provincial tasks managed by the heads of departments, bureaus, offices, and headquarters and the results of the provincial task force operations can be promptly reported to the governor, ensuring swift policy feedback.

A provincial official emphasized, "To quickly resolve provincial issues, it is necessary to foster an environment where not only instructions are followed but also creative solutions are sought to proactively solve problems."

He added, "The delegation of the governor's approval authority will be implemented next month as a measure to create and settle such an atmosphere within the provincial government. We expect that this will allow the governor to focus on issues requiring political power, such as public institutions and large-scale investment attraction."

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