Lee Jae-myung's Proposal to Change "Local Autonomous Entities" to "Local Governments" Accepted

[Suwon Ilbo=Park No-hun Reporter] A proposal by Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, to change the term "local autonomous entities" to "local governments" in order to strengthen local autonomy has been reflected in and amended and adopted in the joint statement of the Association of Korean Metropolitan and Provincial Governors.

At the 45th General Assembly of the Association of Korean Metropolitan and Provincial Governors held on the afternoon of the 18th at the International Conference Room of the Cultural Information Center at the National Asia Culture Center in Gwangju Metropolitan City, the "Joint Statement of Mayors and Governors of Korean Cities and Provinces to the 21st National Assembly" was adopted and passed.
The association requested in the joint statement the ▲rapid discussion and passage of bills related to local autonomy, ▲establishment of a special committee on local autonomy in the National Assembly, and ▲reflection of local autonomy provisions in constitutional amendment discussions.

Prior to the vote, Governor Lee proposed on-site: "The term 'local autonomous entities' does not match the status of local governments. Going forward, I hope the association of metropolitan and provincial governors will respect itself by using the term 'local governments' and add this content to the joint statement as well."

Provincial governors nationwide accepted this proposal, amending and re-voting by adding the phrase "raise the status by changing 'local autonomous entities' to 'local governments'" to the existing language stating "When constitutional amendments are discussed, local autonomy provisions must be reflected (omitted) ... individual provisions must include content guaranteeing local legislative authority, financial independence, administrative autonomy, and organizational autonomy for local governments."

Previously, Governor Lee instructed the publicization of the change in local government nomenclature so that the independent and horizontal relationship between the central and local governments could be clearly demonstrated. Since "local autonomous entities" is specified in the Constitution, a constitutional amendment is essential to officially change the terminology, making advance publicization necessary.

Governor Lee also proposed the official change of terminology to "local governments" at the launch ceremony of the Capital Region Fair Economy Council in December last year, and the province recently established the "Gyeonggi Province Promotion and Support Plan for Autonomy and Decentralization," selecting publicization of the local government nomenclature change as a major implementation task.