Suwon Mayor's Power to Expand

When the local administrative system is reorganized in 2014, not only budget execution authority and personnel authority, but also education and police autonomy, as well as fire autonomy, will be transferred to large cities with populations over 1 million, significantly expanding the authority of basic local government heads. Suwon City, which currently has a population nearing 1.1 million, is expected to receive transfer of authority from the central government and Gyeonggi Province even without consolidation.

The National Assembly's Special Committee on Administrative System Reform held subcommittee and full committee meetings on the 27th to process the 'Special Act on Local Administrative System Reform' containing these provisions. According to the special act, the province (道) will remain as is, but in the reorganization process of autonomous districts and counties in metropolitan cities and special metropolitan cities, district/county government councils will be established instead of eliminating the current basic councils.

The reorganization plan including repositioning of the province's status and functions will be separately conducted by the newly established Presidential Committee for Promoting Reorganization, to be determined one year before the nationwide simultaneous local elections in 2014. District government councils will be composed of district heads and members of metropolitan city and special metropolitan city assemblies elected from the respective districts, and will be responsible for deliberation of district budgets and ordinances enacted by the district, as well as deliberation and recommendations regarding resident petitions.

Additionally, when local governments merge, a 'Joint Committee for Promoting Integration' will be established for related local government heads to deliberate details of consolidation such as name and government office location.

Consolidated local governments will be given special measures including fair treatment guarantees for civil servants, support for integration costs and cost savings budgets, priority designation of districts and regions for specific area development, four-year guarantees of current ordinary transfer taxes, and additional financial support beyond transfer taxes.

Large cities with populations between 500,000 and 1 million that are not metropolitan cities or special metropolitan cities can allocate an additional ratio within 10% of provincial taxes collected separately from local finance law's fiscal transfer funds. Large cities with populations over 1 million will additionally receive fire autonomy in addition to education and police autonomy.

Meanwhile, as Han Nara Party floor leader Ahn Sang-soo and Democratic Party floor leader Lee Gang-rae agreed to process administrative system reform-related legislation at this month's extraordinary session of the National Assembly, it is expected to be processed either at the plenary session held on the 28th or 29th, or at the latest during the June extraordinary session.