Four Special Metropolitan Mayors Urge Government to Grant Special Authorities for 4.5 Million Citizens

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Jun-sung] The National Special Metropolitan Mayors Council, a gathering of mayors from four special metropolitan cities—Suwon, Goyang, Yongin, and Changwon (representing chair Mayor Heo Sung-moo of Changwon)—provisionally suspended a one-person protest planned at the Blue House from the morning of the 19th and instead pursued meetings with the Presidential Chief of Staff and the Minister of Interior and Safety.

On the afternoon of the 19th at the Blue House, the council delivered a proposal to Presidential Chief of Staff Lee Cheol-hee requesting revision of unreasonable standards for basic property amounts in social welfare, and then moved to the Government Complex in Sejong to propose to Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Hae-chul the granting of special authorities for 4.5 million citizens.

Present at the meeting were National Special Metropolitan Mayors Council representing chair Mayor Heo Sung-moo of Changwon, along with Goyang Mayor Lee Jae-joon, Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young, and Yongin Mayor Baek Gun-ki.

The four special metropolitan mayors spoke with one voice, expressing concerns that special metropolitan cities—which are basic local governments at the metropolitan level with populations exceeding one million—are facing difficulties due to uniform standards that do not reflect urban characteristics.

The proposal includes the following items: ▲ Upward revision of basic property standards for social welfare in large cities ▲ Recommendations for amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Local Autonomy Law ▲ Normal deliberation and reflection of special metropolitan affairs in the Second Comprehensive Transfer Law currently under deliberation suspension ▲ Addition of special provisions for cities with over one million population in the Decentralization Law ▲ Establishment of a government-wide dedicated organization for promoting special metropolitan cities ▲ Grant of organizational structure and authorities befitting special metropolitan cities with one million population.

Minister of Interior and Safety Lee Hae-chul stated, "We have established an internal policy to comprehensively support special metropolitan city affairs and to establish a task force team between the Ministry of Interior and Safety and special metropolitan cities, and to expeditiously support securing additional special authorities for these cities."

In response, National Special Metropolitan Mayors Council representing chair Mayor Heo Sung-moo said, "Whether any special metropolitan city will be launched next January depends on how actively we push for our demands now," and added, "In order to resolve the disadvantages faced by 4.5 million special metropolitan citizens, we will continue to make proposals until we receive positive responses from relevant agencies."

Meanwhile, since the 14th, the council has conducted relay one-person protests demanding revision of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's basic property standard notice. In a meeting with First Vice Minister Yang Sung-il of the Ministry of Health and Welfare on the first day of the protest, the council achieved a result wherein experts would begin a review process regarding revision of the notice.