The 12th Gyeonggi Provincial Council held its opening ceremony Friday and began full-scale legislative activities.
The council held the opening ceremony for its 12th term in the main council chamber that afternoon. The event was attended by 167 provincial lawmakers, including new Chairman Nam Jong-seop, new Vice Chairs Ko Eun-jeong and Kim Mi-suk, Democratic Party floor leader Ahn Kwang-ryul, and People Power Party floor leader Bang Seong-hwan. Key executive officials, including Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae and Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education Ahn Min-seok, also joined.
In his opening address, Chairman Nam emphasized harmony and solidarity. "A good council cannot be built by the power of the chairman alone," he said. "There must be a team and partners who trust and rely on one another."
Together with Vice Chairs Ko Eun-jeong and Kim Mi-suk, he said, "We will become one team and make a start for harmony and cooperation." Regarding relations with the executive branch, he made clear the principles of checks and cooperation.
"When it comes to work for the residents' lives, there can be no separation between the provincial government, the education office, and the council," Nam stressed. "We will boldly lend our strength to good policies, and correct insufficient policies through alternatives and principled checks."
He said he would place the center of the council on "the field." "The more it is an era of crisis, the more we must draw close to residents' lives, listen to their voices, and solve problems," Nam said. "Creating change in residents' daily lives is the reason the council exists."
He also pledged to build a "leading council" that prepares for change first, rather than one that trails behind it. To that end, he said he would strengthen the council's capacity so that the expertise and experience of individual members lead to policy and legislation.
He also signaled his commitment to improving the local council system. "To enact a local council law that guarantees the independence and autonomy of local councils, we will join with metropolitan councils nationwide and persuade the National Assembly and the government," Nam said.
"As the nation's largest metropolitan council, we will lead change at the very forefront," he added. "We will be reborn as a solid representative body that responds one step ahead of residents' expectations."
Nam urged unity, citing the idiom "dongmok bulseongnim," meaning a single tree cannot become a forest. "When the dedication and wisdom of the 167 members and the secretariat family come together, the council can become a solid forest," he said.
"Rather than standing at the highest point of that forest, I will be a chairman who puts down the deepest roots," he vowed. "I will listen more and reflect more deeply to build a council that residents can be proud of."
In her congratulatory address, Governor Choo Mi-ae said, "The council is where the will of the residents gathers, and the executive branch is where that will is realized into policy." She added, "Let us respect each other's roles and find solutions together that change residents' lives."
Superintendent of Education Ahn Min-seok also said, "I hope the provincial council and the provincial education office will join hands and successfully lead a great transformation of Gyeonggi education."
Meanwhile, the leadership of the first half of the 12th Gyeonggi Provincial Council was officially elected at the first plenary session of the 392nd extraordinary session held ahead of the opening ceremony. The extraordinary session is scheduled to close on the 22nd after handling the election of standing committee chairs, appointment of committee members, formation of the special budget and accounts committee and the special ethics committee, and the timing of the 2026 administrative affairs audit.
