Yongin Mayor Lee Sang-il Requests Support from Interior Ministry Including Special Law for Special Municipal Status

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Choi Ki-ho] On May 9 afternoon, Yongin Special Municipality Mayor Lee Sang-il met with Vice Minister of Interior and Safety Ko Ki-dong, who visited Yongin, and actively requested support, stating that a 'Special Law for Support of Special Municipalities' must be enacted promptly so that special municipalities with populations exceeding one million can provide diverse administrative services fitting their scale to citizens.

Mayor Lee also noted that the number of residents per civil servant in Yongin City is 332, the highest among special municipalities, and that the standard workforce and standard personnel expenditures relative to population are set too low, causing significant difficulties in providing adequate administrative services. He requested an upward adjustment of the city's standard workforce and standard personnel expenditures.

Vice Minister Ko's visit to Yongin on this day was conducted as an on-site inspection for law enactment in connection with President Yoon Suk-yeol's announcement at the 23rd Public Livelihood Forum held at Yongin City Hall in March under his presidency, where he stated he would enact a 'Special Law for Support of Special Municipalities' and expand authority so that special municipalities could conduct administration befitting their status.

Mayor Lee and city officials met Vice Minister Ko at Yongin Youth LAB within Suji Respire, from which Giheung-gu and Suji-gu can be viewed at a glance, and through a briefing explained that among 595 apartment complexes in Yongin, 414 complexes, accounting for 70 percent, have exceeded 15 years of age and are included as remodeling project targets.

A city official stated, "According to Articles 71-73 of the Housing Act, before the city's remodeling master plan can be publicly announced, it must go through the city's urban planning review committee and then receive approval from the Gyeonggi Province governor, but the provincial procedures are not proceeding swiftly, causing significant difficulties. The enactment of a special law for special municipalities is also necessary to resolve such problems," the official said.

The current review procedures of Gyeonggi Province—including urban planning committee review, remodeling specialists committee consultation, and joint (architecture and landscape) committee review—overlap with the city's review and consume considerable time, so provincial authority should now be transferred to the special municipality, they emphasized.

In Yongin City, 13 complexes have established remodeling housing associations and are proceeding with projects since 2019, but to date, not a single project has been approved by Gyeonggi Province.

Vice Minister Ko stated, "I visited to directly confirm the necessity of securing special municipal authority, which is a pending issue for rapidly growing Yongin, and I appreciate the welcome. Having heard the explanation on-site, I understand the urgency of remodeling projects. I will actively assist in resolving the issue of securing special municipal authority, including simplifying procedures for establishing remodeling master plans," he said.

Additionally, Mayor Lee requested from Vice Minister Ko an upward adjustment of the city's standard workforce and standard personnel expenditures for strengthening autonomous organization authority, followed by a request to expand the scope of long-term education and training for city civil servants of grades 4, 5, and 6 (expanding grade 4 and 5 trainees from the current 1 to 2, grade 6 women leaders' education from current 0 to 1, and grade 6 in-house long-term education from the current 27 to 30).

Mayor Lee also noted that when conducting nationwide elections, a considerable number of local government civil servants are deployed to election duties, and avoidance phenomena are appearing due to increased burdens, stating that solutions need to be reviewed. He delivered related materials to Vice Minister Ko.

Subsequently, Vice Minister Ko moved to Yongin City Hall after his meeting with Mayor Lee and met with tax civil servants, encouraging dedicated civil servants who are processing many public inquiries in personal local income tax reporting duties and listening to difficulties regarding the next-generation tax revenue information system.

Vice Minister Ko stated, "I arranged this meeting to encourage tax civil servants working hard in the front lines with local tax revenue duties. I will do my best to ensure the system becomes stable quickly, assist with the work of tax civil servants, and enable citizens to conveniently pay local taxes," he said.