SUWON — Nam Jong-seop, speaker of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, has rallied provincial and metropolitan councils nationwide behind a joint push for swift enactment of a local council law.
According to the Gyeonggi Provincial Council on the 30th, Nam led the adoption of a resolution urging the prompt enactment of a local council law to raise the standing and strengthen the independence of local legislatures. The resolution was taken up as the first item of business in the first half of the 20th term at the sixth extraordinary session of 2026 of the National Council of Provincial and Metropolitan Assembly Speakers, held at the provincial council a day earlier.
The session was the first meeting Nam presided over at the Gyeonggi Provincial Council since taking office as chairman of the national council. Nam organized the gathering as a focused discussion on enacting the law within the year, with a debate forum, a meeting of speakers, floor action on the resolution and a joint performance.
Speakers from 15 of the country's 16 provincial and metropolitan councils attended, with the Seoul Metropolitan Council the only one absent. From the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, Vice Speakers Ko Eun-jung and Kim Mi-suk, Democratic Party floor leader Ahn Kwang-ryul, People Power Party floor leader Bang Sung-hwan and the chairs of standing committees took part. Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae and Gyeonggi Superintendent of Education Ahn Min-seok also attended the opening ceremony.
In a welcoming address, Nam said the role of local councils has become more important amid strained local finances. "The tighter the finances, the clearer the priorities for people's livelihoods must be," he said. "The council must hold the center so that residents' lives are not shaken."
"We must pull together to the very end so that the local council law passes without fail in the regular National Assembly session at year's end," he said. "I will see to the substance as well, making sure that the systems for organization, budget, audits and legislative support are properly reflected in the bill."
Nam stressed integrity alongside stronger powers for local councils. "Public trust is an essential condition for the independence and stronger authority of local councils," he said. "Only when we give people confidence that they can entrust matters to us will our own demands win support."
Ahead of the opening ceremony, the Gyeonggi Provincial Council held a debate forum on enacting a local council law, jointly with the National Assembly Research Service and the Korea Legislation Research Institute. Participants discussed the main points of contention in the bill and directions for institutional improvement.
At the meeting of speakers that followed, a wide range of issues facing local councils were addressed. The speakers agreed on the need for a local council law and, by adopting the resolution at the plenary session, confirmed their shared commitment to legislation within the year.
After the meeting, the speakers staged a joint performance calling for swift enactment of the law.
"The resolve gathered today must lead to enactment of the local council law and to practical change in each council," Nam said. "As chairman of the national council, I will communicate closely with speakers across the country and stay with this to the end."
