Changwon Special City Secures 121 Additional Authorities through Local Autonomy Act Amendment

Changwon City Hall, Gyeongnam.

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[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] With the revision of the Local Autonomy Act, Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam has secured an additional 121 administrative authorities to be directly executed.

Changwon City announced that the partial amendment bill of the Special Act on Decentralization of Local Government and Reorganization of Local Administrative System (Local Autonomy Act), which includes 6 functions such as ports and logistics and 121 special administrative tasks, was finally passed at the National Assembly plenary session on the 5th.

The amendment bill to the Local Autonomy Act, jointly proposed by lawmakers from four special cities including Changwon City in November last year, contains the core special city functions jointly identified and suggested by the four cities.

The amendment bill passed the full meeting of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee on February 9 and the systematic and textual review by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on April 4 before passing the plenary session on the 5th.

The amendment bill to the Nonprofit Private Organization Support Act, which transfers authority such as registration, cancellation, and support of nonprofit private organizations to special cities, was also passed together.

A city official stated that during the legislative process, they urged the enactment of the amendment bill by meeting with key figures such as Seo Young-kyo, Chairperson of the Public Administration Committee, Park Jae-ho, Chairperson of the 1st Subcommittee of the Public Administration Committee, and Koo Yoon-cheol, Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination, in coordination with other cities.

The amendment bill passed by the National Assembly includes the transfer of 6 functions and 121 related administrative tasks to special cities, such as ▲development and operation of port facilities at locally managed trade ports ▲management of shared waters within port areas of locally managed trade ports ▲mountain area use permits ▲matters related to environmental improvement charges ▲formation and operation of local construction technology review committees ▲development and operation of logistics complexes.

Among these, 101 administrative tasks related to ports and logistics complexes apply only to Changwon City among the four special cities, as it is the only one with a coastline.

A city official said, “We have secured autonomous development and management authority over Jinhae Port, the only locally managed trade port among basic local governments nationwide,” adding, “This will enable port administration that directly reflects residents’ opinions and suits local conditions.”

Mayor Heo Seong-moo said, “With the revision of the Local Autonomy Act, we have secured an additional 121 authorities on top of the powers obtained last year, such as raising social welfare benefit standards and increasing the fire safety grant tax,” adding, “Through bold decentralization, we have achieved the successful establishment of special cities and, furthermore, created a new turning point for the development of local autonomy in the Republic of Korea.”

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