SUWON — Nam Jong-seop, speaker of the Gyeonggi Provincial Council, joined metropolitan and basic-level council members from across the country in front of the National Assembly to call for swift passage of a Local Council Act.
The Korea Council of Metropolitan and Provincial Council Speakers, which Nam chairs, held a National Local Council Members Convention in front of the National Assembly main building on the 27th, bringing together calls from local councils nationwide for the law to be enacted this year.
The event was co-hosted by the Korea Council of Metropolitan and Provincial Council Speakers and its counterpart association for city, county and district councils. About 2,400 metropolitan and basic-level council members attended, stressing the need for legislation to strengthen the independence and expertise of local councils.
Former National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik attended, along with lawmakers including Kang Deuk-gu, Kim Moon-soo, Kim Young-bae, Moon Geum-joo, Moon Jung-bok, Seo Young-seok, Shin Jung-hoon, Lee Kwang-hee, Lee Hae-sik and Jeon Hyun-heui. Participants agreed that enacting the law is a central task for realizing residents' sovereignty and advancing local autonomy.
Speakers and steering committee chairs from basic-level and metropolitan councils delivered a series of joint statements. The council members staged a joint performance to demand that the National Assembly take responsibility for passing the law.
The participants also adopted a joint resolution. It called for enactment of the Local Council Act this year, guarantees of local councils' authority over their own organization and budget drafting, and a legal basis for establishing their own audit bodies. The resolution also called for expanding specialized policy support staff and setting realistic limits on the number of expert committee members, so that local councils can function effectively.
Nam also proposed a way to sustain cooperation among local councils. He suggested forming a nationwide council of local council members that would include both metropolitan and basic-level members from across the country, a standing framework for discussing shared issues beyond the passage of the law.
"Those of us gathered here today must not scatter again," Nam said in his speech. "Let us form a nationwide council of local council members that brings together basic-level and metropolitan councils." He added, "From enacting the Local Council Act to the tasks that follow, we must resolve these matters together through the strength of local council members nationwide."
Addressing the National Assembly, he said, "Please enact the Local Council Act without fail during this regular session," and appealed for "a responsible decision by the National Assembly so that this year can mark the first year of the Local Council Act."
Nam also attended a policy seminar held earlier in the day at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. The seminar was organized jointly by the Korea Council of Metropolitan and Provincial Council Speakers, the Korean Association for Local Government Studies and the office of lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu, under the theme "Realizing Residents' Sovereignty: Finding the Way in the Local Council Act." It examined the need for the law and ways to strengthen residents' sovereignty.