Gyeonggi Province Pushes Forward with Legal and Institutional Reforms to Strengthen Autonomous Governance Capacity of Cities and Counties
Suwon NewsPublished 2019.12.23 06:49
'Rational institutional improvement measures in organization and personnel fields' developed ... legal amendments and recommendations to central ministries, immediate improvementsOrganization field: Support strengthening of 'expertise' in cities and counties through expansion of local assembly specialist committee members, raising standards for department and bureau establishmentPersonnel field: Minimizing administrative vacancies from unfilled positions through additional civil service exams, expanding training personnel to enhance civil servant competency
[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] Gyeonggi Province is developing 'rational institutional improvement measures in organization and personnel fields' and launching efforts to promote legal and institutional reforms to strengthen the autonomous governance capacity of cities and counties in the province.
The province announced on the 23rd that it plans to actively recommend matters requiring legal amendments to central ministries and to push for immediate institutional improvements for matters that can be resolved independently.
First, the improvement measures in the 'organization field' include plans to expand specialist committee members to strengthen the professionalism of local assemblies.
As the role of basic local assemblies becomes increasingly important due to strengthened local autonomy and citizen self-governance, the plan is to enhance professionalism by expanding 'basic local assembly specialist committee members,' equivalent to grade 5, to levels similar to those of metropolitan local assemblies.
Accordingly, the province plans to pursue amendments to the 'Regulations on Administrative Organization and Personnel Standards of Local Autonomous Entities' so that specialist committee members in 16 cities and counties in the province with 10 to 40 local assembly members—including ▲Suwon, Goyang, and Seongnam (4 people→6 people) ▲Yongin, Bucheon, Ansan, Anyang, and Hwaseong (3 people→5 people) ▲Namyangju, Pyeongtaek, Uijeongbu, Paju, Siheung, Gimpo, Gwangju, and Gwangmyeong (2 people→4 people)—can be expanded from 2-4 members to 4-6 members.
Considering that there is no reason to have a significant difference in the number of specialist committee members between metropolitan and basic local assemblies given their respective authorities and roles, the province plans to push forward with this expansion of specialist committee members.
Additionally, the province will pursue a 'rational level of grade elevation and additional organization establishment plan' that includes raising the rank of vice heads of cities and counties with populations under 100,000 and raising the standards for establishing departments and bureaus in some cities and counties.
First, the province has decided to pursue raising the rank of vice heads in four cities and counties—Gapyeong, Gwacheon, Dongducheon, and Yeoncheon—with populations under 100,000 from grade 4 (senior secretary) to grade 3 (vice director general).
In addition, considering diverse administrative demands of cities and counties such as transportation, construction, welfare, and culture, the province plans to allow 15 cities and counties in the province with populations under 300,000 to each establish one additional department and bureau.
The relevant cities and counties are ▲Gunpo, Hanam, Osan, Icheon, Yangju, and Guri (5→6) ▲Anseong, Uiwang, and Pocheon (4→5) ▲Yangpyeong, Yeoju, Gapyeong, Gwacheon, Dongducheon, and Yeoncheon (3→4).
The 'rational level of grade elevation and additional organization establishment plan' also includes expanding the number of grade 3 and above department and bureau chiefs in three cities and counties—Seongnam, Bucheon, and Hwaseong—with populations over 700,000 from 1 to 2.
The province explained that these institutional improvements in the organization field are matters requiring 'legal amendments' by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, necessitating close cooperation with that ministry.
Accordingly, the province plans to actively consult with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to ensure that 'legal amendments' are made regarding the expansion of local assembly specialist committee members and the elevation of standards for vice head ranks and department and bureau establishment.
The 'personnel field' improvement measures include provisions for conducting additional recruitment examinations to fill vacancies that arise continuously in cities and counties and strengthening civil servants' competency through expanded long-term training for cities and counties.
In relation to this, the province decided to recommend to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety that open competitive recruitment examinations currently held once a year can be conducted twice a year in the first and second half.
The province plans to present specific alternatives such as regularizing local civil service grade 8 and 9 recruitment examinations twice a year and, if the conditions for problem development are not favorable, implementing some grade 8 and 9 recruitment examinations concurrently with the local civil service grade 7 recruitment examination.
Additionally, the province decided to increase the competitive recruitment examination it conducts annually from once to twice starting in 2020.
The province expects that with additional examinations, it will be able to effectively fill vacancies arising continuously from the retirement of the baby boom generation, withdrawal of appointments due to multiple successes, and childcare leave, thereby minimizing administrative gaps.
Furthermore, starting in 2020, the province plans to independently expand long-term training personnel at grade 6 level for middle and senior civil servants in cities and counties from 107 to approximately 120 people, and will recommend to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety that allocated personnel for long-term training of 'grade 4 and 5 civil servants' can be increased from 47 to 56.
A provincial official stated, "Considering the continuously increasing administrative demands in cities and counties in the province such as population increase and economic scale expansion, we developed institutional improvement measures to enhance the satisfaction of residents with administrative services through improvements in unreasonable aspects of organization and personnel fields," adding "we plan to transfer as much authority as possible."
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