SUWON — Gyeonggi Provincial Council Speaker Nam Jong-seop joined speakers of metropolitan and provincial councils nationwide on the 9th in urging swift enactment of a Local Council Act.
Nam, who chairs the National Association of Metropolitan and Provincial Council Speakers, held a press conference at the National Assembly's press center that day. "A Local Council Act that institutionally underpins the independence and autonomy of local councils must be enacted within this year," he said.
The press conference was the second such move, following a Gyeonggi Provincial Council press conference at the National Assembly on the 3rd of this month. While the earlier event conveyed the position of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, this one carried added weight as a joint response uniting metropolitan and provincial councils across the country.
Attendees included the speakers of the Daegu, Incheon, Daejeon, Sejong, Gangwon and North Gyeongsang councils, along with the chairs of the council steering committees of Jeonnam, Gwangju, Incheon, Sejong, Gangwon, South Gyeongsang and Jeju. From the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, Steering Committee Chair Jang Han-byul (Democratic Party, Suwon 4) and Choi Jong-hyun (Democratic Party, Suwon 7), who heads a task force on enacting the Local Council Act, took part. National Assembly member Kang Deuk-gu also attended.
In a joint statement titled "Local Council Independence Can No Longer Be Delayed," the participants said that 35 years have passed since local councils were revived, yet the institutional foundation for councils to carry out their responsibilities remains insufficient.
They stressed in particular that while a full revision of the Local Autonomy Act in 2022 gave local councils independent personnel authority and introduced a policy support officer system, core powers such as organizational authority, budget drafting authority and audit authority are still not adequately guaranteed.
The participants called for prompt review and passage within this year of Local Council Act bills pending in the National Assembly. They also urged that local councils be guaranteed organizational, budget drafting and audit authority, that the number of policy support officers be expanded and that those posts be converted to a separate career track.
They also said they would strengthen transparency and ethical standards in council activities in line with the expansion of local council powers, and overhaul their internal audit systems. The intent is that authority and accountability should expand together.
Six Local Council Act bills introduced by both the governing and opposition parties are currently pending in the National Assembly. With enactment of a Local Council Act included among the government's policy tasks, the participants argued that it is now up to the National Assembly and the government to respond with legislation.
"The independence of local councils is not for the benefit of council members," Nam said. "It is to ensure that residents' voices lead to policy and translate into changes in their lives." He added: "The starting point for opening a new 35 years of local autonomy is the enactment of a Local Council Act. The National Assembly and the government must delay no longer and move on legislation within this year."
Nam visited the National Assembly on the 25th of last month to deliver a petition urging enactment of a Local Council Act, along with a draft bill prepared by the Gyeonggi Provincial Council.
