Gyeongnam Governor Park Wansu: "A Forum for Free Discussion of Current Issues Among Provincial Governors Is Needed"

Yuminbong Secretary General of the Association of Provincial Governors Visits Gyeongnam

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, met with Yoo Min-bong, the 11th Secretary-General of the Korea Association of City and Provincial Governors, who visited the provincial office on the 17th.

Appointed on the 3rd, Secretary-General Yoo visited Gyeongnam for a courtesy call after assuming his position.

Governor Park told Secretary-General Yoo, “There needs to be a procedure through which local government issues, including the autonomy of local government organizational rights, can be sufficiently discussed among city and provincial governors and then proposed to the government,” adding, “I ask the Association of City and Provincial Governors to actively create a forum for such discussions.”

He also stated, “To ensure local governments have autonomy in organizational management, provisions that delegate the authority to establish ordinances according to presidential decrees under the Local Autonomy Act, as well as provisions that restrict organizational rights in presidential decrees, must be comprehensively revised.”

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province (right), is shaking hands with Yoo Min-bong, Secretary General of the 11th Korea Council of Governors.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

He continued, “In the Central-Local Cooperation Council, there should be time for city and provincial governors to freely discuss local issues beyond the common agenda agreed upon with the central government,” and suggested exploring measures such as designating topics for discussion at each meeting.

In response, Secretary-General Yoo said, “I will prioritize the autonomy of city and provincial organizational rights,” and added, “I will create a platform where city and provincial governors can discuss vivid local opinions and engage in dialogue with the central government.”

Secretary-General Yoo was born in 1958 in Daejeon, graduated from Daejeon High School and Sungkyunkwan University with a degree in Public Administration, served as the first Chief Secretary for Policy Planning under the Park Geun-hye administration, and was a member of the 20th National Assembly as a proportional representative of the Saenuri Party.

On the same day, Gyeongnam Province proposed nine regional issues to the Association of City and Provincial Governors, including amendments to the Local Autonomy Act to expand organizational rights and expanded tax support for companies relocating to local areas.

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