'Meeting with Gyeonggi-do Mayors and County Chiefs' Kim Dong-yeon: "Supplementary Budget Expansion... Cooperation from Cities and Counties Needed"'

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon and the mayors and county heads of 31 cities and counties in Gyeonggi Province held the "2023 Second Half Gyeonggi Province-City/County Policy Cooperation Committee" on the 13th at the Ansan Cultural Foundation International Conference Hall in Ansan City, pledging cooperation.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon met with the 31 mayors and county heads within Gyeonggi Province to promote cooperative governance across regions and political parties for the lives and future of residents, including the phased abolition of solar panel setback distance regulations and the metropolitan mobility service for special transportation.

On the 13th, Gyeonggi Province held the ‘2023 Second Half Gyeonggi Province-City/County Policy Cooperation Committee’ at the Ansan Cultural Foundation International Conference Hall in Ansan City, with Governor Kim Dong-yeon, Shin Sang-jin, chairman of the Gyeonggi Province Mayors and County Heads Council (Mayor of Seongnam), and heads of 31 cities and counties in attendance.

This Policy Cooperation Committee was the second meeting following the first held in Namyangju in March.

Governor Kim Dong-yeon stated, "I believe active fiscal policy is necessary to overcome various economic difficulties, and I have submitted an expanded supplementary budget proposal to the provincial council. The economy is tough and people’s livelihoods are very difficult, so the purpose is to revitalize the economy and assist vulnerable groups through provincial administration. There are many areas where cooperation with cities and counties is needed, so I ask for your support."

At the Policy Cooperation Committee, a joint agreement was adopted on four items: ▲ phased abolition of solar panel setback distance regulations ▲ memorandum of understanding for metropolitan mobility services for special transportation ▲ regulatory reform on preservation charges for factories within development-restricted zones ▲ joint response to amendments of the Public Housing Act and management guidelines related to housing site development and public housing projects.

The agenda items for the joint agreement were derived from 12 items submitted at the working-level council on the 4th, mutually agreed upon by the province and cities/counties to be pursued together.

Regarding the content of the agreement, first, the solar panel setback distance regulation has become an obstacle to the spread of renewable energy by setting excessive setback distances in residential areas and roads without objective standards by local governments, preventing the installation of solar power facilities.

Gyeonggi Province and the 31 cities and counties agreed that the spread of renewable energy and RE100 expansion are urgent tasks that cannot be delayed in response to the climate crisis, and decided to limit the solar panel setback distance regulation to within 100 meters in residential areas and work together to phase it out.

Additionally, to ensure no inconvenience in mobility for people with disabilities, they agreed to start the metropolitan mobility service for special transportation across the entire Gyeonggi Province and the Seoul metropolitan area from October 4. To this end, they will prepare standard guidelines for operational criteria such as operating hours, fares, and eligible users, which currently vary by each of the 31 cities and counties, and establish a cooperative system between the province and cities/counties.

Gyeonggi Province and the 31 cities and counties also agreed to propose a legal amendment to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport to allow reduction of preservation charges imposed when expanding buildings of factories operating since before the designation of development-restricted zones, to promote corporate facility investment.

Furthermore, to resolve resident inconveniences caused by incomplete facilities such as unaddressed defect repairs upon completion of public housing districts, they will strengthen the supervisory authority of the management agency (cities/counties) and enhance the handover procedures from project implementers to the management agency (cities/counties), and pursue amendments to related laws including the Public Housing Act.

Meanwhile, the Province-City/County Policy Cooperation Committee was initiated following an agreement at the ‘First Governor-Mayor/County Head Meeting of the 8th Local Government Term’ in July last year to operate a mutual cooperation and consultation body between the province and cities/counties. The committee is co-chaired by the Governor of Gyeonggi Province and the chairman of the Gyeonggi Province Mayors and County Heads Council, holding regular meetings twice a year in the first and second halves.

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