Mayor Yeom Tae-young Meets with Decentralization Committee Chair Kim Sun-eun

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] The National Association of Mayors, Gun Governors, and District Heads (represented by Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young as chair) held a meeting with Kim Sun-eun, chair of the Presidential Committee on Decentralization, at the Seoul Government Complex on the 9th to discuss current decentralization issues.

Chair Yeom Tae-young and Vice Chair Hwang Myeong-seon (Mayor of Nonsan) who attended the meeting expressed concerns about the decentralization projects being pursued by the Decentralization Committee being carried out with a focus on metropolitan governments.

Chair Yeom pointed out problems with decentralization tasks centered on cities and provinces, excluding basic-level governments, including the implementation of the first stage of fiscal decentralization, the introduction of autonomous police systems, and the establishment of central-local cooperation meetings (related to the Second State Council). He also likened the relationship between metropolitan and basic-level fiscal decentralization regarding city and provincial subsidies to an uneven playing field. As a solution, he proposed the establishment of a "fiscal burden deliberation committee between metropolitan and basic-level governments."

Finally, he urged Chair Kim to ensure that the committee's future activities sufficiently accommodate basic-level governments and pursue balanced local decentralization.

Chair Kim responded, "We will pursue fiscal decentralization that basic municipal governments can sufficiently agree with."