Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young and Local Government Leaders Jointly Adopt 'Jeju Declaration'

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] Forty local government leaders across the nation jointly adopted the 'Jeju Declaration' to realize local autonomy and decentralization.

The Local Autonomy and Decentralization Government Council held the First Korea Local Autonomy and Decentralization Expo at the Haevich Hotel & Resort in Jeju on the 17th at 2 p.m., under the theme 'Local Autonomy and Decentralization! Our Lives, What Will Change!'

Yeom Tae-young, chairman of the National Association of Mayors and Governors (Suwon Mayor), along with Kim Soon-eun, chairman of the Presidential Committee on Local Autonomy and Decentralization, and Moon Seok-jin, chairman of the Local Autonomy and Decentralization Government Council, and other representatives of member organizations attended.

Participants jointly adopted the Jeju Declaration. Based on the Jeju local autonomy and decentralization model introduced 13 years ago, the declaration contains the rationale for the spread of local autonomy and decentralization as a new spirit and vision of the times, and a commitment to emerge as a substantive local government with guaranteed advanced autonomy.

Subsequently, participants urged the National Assembly and central government to: ▲transfer affairs and authority concerning administrative system reorganization to local governments ▲grant local governments the right to propose bills related to local affairs ▲provide autonomy in organization and personnel to guarantee local governments' autonomous organization rights ▲strengthen local financial autonomy by revising laws and ordinances concerning local finances. Four measures were urged.

Local government leaders discussed countermeasures for local autonomy and decentralization following the second regular general meeting. In particular, Yeom Tae-young, Suwon Mayor and chairman of the National Association of Mayors and Governors, emphasized that joint action must be taken to ensure that bills related to local self-governance and decentralization pass through the National Assembly by the end of the year.

Mayor Yeom stated, "The fastest way to overcome crises such as polarization, aging, and regional decline and to create a sustainable society is to achieve a nation of autonomy and decentralization," adding, "I hope to write a new chapter in local self-governance in Jeju Island, where the aspirations for local autonomy and decentralization are embodied."