Jeonnam Provincial Council Chairman Kim Taekyun Proposes and Passes Recommendation to Eliminate Discriminatory Resignation Deadlines for Local Council Members

Attendance at the Regular Meeting of the Korea Council of Chairmen of Provincial Councils
Decision to Provide 10 Million Won in Disaster Relief Funds to Jeonnam
Chairman Kim's Proposal Unanimously Approved by All Attendees

Kim Taekyun, Chairman of the Jeonnam Provincial Council, attending the Korea Council of Chairmen of Provincial Councils held at the Government Sejong Convention Center on the 11th. Provided by Jeonnam Provincial Council

Kim Taekyun, Chairman of the Jeonnam Provincial Council (Gwangyang 3, Democratic Party of Korea), attended the 2025 regular meeting of the Korea Council of Chairmen of Provincial Councils held at the Government Sejong Convention Center on the 11th, where he discussed key issues such as disaster relief support and improvements to the Public Official Election Act for local councils.

At the meeting, the Council decided to provide 10 million won in disaster relief funds to the Jeonnam region through the Korean Red Cross. This measure was taken in response to Chairman Kim's request for support last month to help residents in Jeonnam quickly recover from the severe damage caused by heavy rainfall.

During the meeting, a proposal titled "Recommendation to Eliminate Discriminatory Resignation Deadlines for Local Council Members to Prevent Legislative Vacancies," which was initiated by Chairman Kim and submitted in the name of the Council's Chair, was also introduced and unanimously adopted by all attendees.

Under the current Public Official Election Act, local council members who wish to run for office as a council member or head of another local government must resign either before registering as a preliminary candidate or at least 30 days prior to the election. However, if they are running for a position within the same local government, they can do so without resigning. This has consistently raised concerns about fairness and the weakening of residents' representation due to legislative vacancies.

Chairman Kim pointed out, "It is a structural issue that undermines both the fairness and effectiveness of the law when resignation deadlines vary depending on the position, even within the same local government." He emphasized, "It is urgent to amend the Public Official Election Act to expand the scope so that both local council members and heads of local governments can run for office across the entire city or province without having to resign, in order to minimize legislative vacancies and fully maintain the representative function for residents."

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