Jeon Gyeongseon of Jeonnam Provincial Council: "Let's End the Half-Functioning Local Councils"

Call for Enactment of the "Local Council Act"
to Grant Authority over Organization and Budget

On the 30th anniversary of the restoration of local autonomy, there have been calls for the enactment of the Local Council Act to enable local councils to become genuine representative bodies of residents with substantive authority.

On June 5, the Jeonnam Provincial Council adopted the "Proposal to Strengthen the Substantive Authority and Secure the Independence of Local Councils," which was introduced by Jeon Gyeongseon (Democratic Party of Korea, Mokpo 5) during the first plenary session of the 391st regular session.

Jeon Gyeongseon, a member of the Jeonnam Provincial Council, is explaining the bill to enact the Local Council Act. Photo by Jeonnam Provincial Council

In his proposal explanation, Jeon pointed out, "Although local councils have devoted themselves to promoting the welfare and development of their regions as representative bodies of local residents, they are still restricted in their independent operation because the heads of local governments retain the authority to organize council administrative bodies and allocate budgets."

He further argued, "This structure fundamentally limits the ability of local councils to perform their core function of monitoring and checking the executive branch," and added, "It also poses a significant obstacle to fulfilling their responsibilities as representative bodies of residents."

He emphasized, "Although the complete revision of the Local Autonomy Act in 2022 granted some degree of autonomy, it still falls short of guaranteeing the independence and authority of local councils." He urged, "We must enact the Local Council Act to clearly define the authority to organize administrative bodies and allocate budgets, and to establish institutional and financial support systems."

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