Candidate Lee Sangil: “Special Act Passed Thanks to Citizens’ Support... As First Two-Term Mayor, I Will Secure Legal Status for Special City”

Lee Sangil, Yongin mayoral candidate, posts on Facebook
Actively welcomes the passage of the “Special Act on Supporting Special Cities” in the National Assembly
“A victory for 1.1 million citizens... Securing administrative authority on par with metropolitan cities”
“Will put the finishing touch on making Yongin a true special city as the 9th-term mayor”

Lee Sangil, the People Power Party candidate for mayor of Yongin Special City, expressed his welcome and gratitude on May 7, following the news that the “Special Act on Supporting Special Cities” had passed the National Assembly plenary session. He stated, “I feel great pride and joy that Yongin, which has grown into a large city on par with a metropolitan city, has now secured administrative authority befitting its status.”

Lee Sangil, Candidate for Mayor of Yongin Special City. Provided by Candidate Lee Sangil

On his Facebook page that day, candidate Lee said, “The efforts poured into enacting the special act over the past four years together with other special city mayors have finally borne fruit,” and added, “Above all, I dedicate this honor to the 1.1 million citizens of Yongin who lent their strength through the signature campaign and the citizens’ resolution rally.”

He continued, “Many citizens in Yongin actively supported the enactment of the special act by participating in the signature campaign, and as the incumbent mayor of the 8th popularly elected term, as well as the People Power Party candidate for the mayoral seat in the 9th term, I would like to express my gratitude.”

The main content of this special act is to grant 19 special administrative authorities in areas closely related to residents’ daily lives, such as housing, transportation, and the urban environment, to special cities.

Notably, it allows for construction permits for buildings of 51 floors or higher, or with a total floor area of over 200,000 square meters, to be approved without prior authorization from the provincial governor. In addition, the special city mayor will be able to exercise powers such as approving or amending master plans for apartment remodeling, approving and registering arboretum and garden development plans, and deliberating on local industrial complex plans.

The special act also stipulates that the Ministry of the Interior and Safety must establish a five-year master plan to systematically support the regional development of special cities, while each special city is required to establish annual implementation plans.

Candidate Lee emphasized, “The city must formulate and implement forward-looking policies based on this special act to promote the city’s development and improve the quality of life for its citizens.”

However, Lee also pointed out that this was still not enough. He stated, “Despite this special act, there is still much to be done to properly handle the overwhelming administrative demands in special cities,” and stressed, “We need to secure even more administrative authority, and ensure that special fiscal measures are granted to special cities.”

He further remarked, “Yongin Special City, which is on its way to becoming a metropolitan city, will eventually grow into a global semiconductor hub with a population of 1.5 million, yet its legal status remains that of a basic local government. The Local Autonomy Act must be amended so that special cities can have a legal status worthy of their name.”

Sangil Lee, candidate for mayor of Yongin Special City. Provided by candidate Sangil Lee

Lee also asserted, “The current ‘si (city)·gun (county)·gu (district)’ classification, following the upper-level local government ‘si·do (metropolitan/provincial)’, should be changed to ‘special city, si·gun·gu.’ To achieve this, we must revise the Local Autonomy Act, which currently stipulates the structure as ‘si·do – si·gun·gu – eup·myeon·dong.’”

Finally, candidate Lee stated, “As there are still tasks that must be accomplished, if citizens elect me as the mayor for the 9th term and the first two-term mayor of Yongin, I will do my utmost, with the persistence and drive I demonstrated in the 8th term, to secure a legal status befitting a special city.”

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