City Proclaims 'Autonomous Decentralization Day'...Decentralization Concert on 17th

Suwon City announced on the 15th that it will proclaim March 17th as 'Suwon City Autonomous Decentralization Day' following the enactment and promulgation of the 'Autonomous Decentralization Promotion Support Ordinance' on the 10th and the establishment of the 'Autonomous Decentralization Council' to open 'an era of citizen sovereignty in which citizens hold decision-making power and an era of regional sovereignty in which regions hold decision-making power.' The city will hold a forum inviting figures who practice passion for the region and the nation in the field.

On the 17th at 2 p.m. at the IBIS Ambassador Hotel in Suwon, the city will hold the inaugural ceremony of the 'Suwon City Autonomous Decentralization Council' and proceed with a 'New Government Local Decentralization Roadmap Forum' and a '1.15 Million Suwon Citizens' Hope Decentralization Concert.'

Through the declaration of 'Autonomous Decentralization Day,' the city will convey to President-elect Park Geun-hye that the highest values for genuine democracy are 'autonomy' and 'decentralization,' and the driving force of national development, and will demand a concrete implementation roadmap from the Presidential Transition Committee.

Citizens' organizations related to decentralization movements, experts, government and opposition decentralization policy officials, media representatives, neighborhood autonomous committee members, and community participation figures from across the nation will participate in the event.

Suwon Mayor Yim Tae-young will attend both the proclamation ceremony, forum, and concert, and will also visit decentralization sites such as Jidong Market and Gwonseon-dong to discuss the city's welfare and livelihood issues.

At the roadmap forum, under the theme of 'Discussing a New Model of Political Reform: Local Decentralization-Type Nation,' a Presidential Transition Committee member in charge of local decentralization will be invited to conduct discussions divided into areas including local decentralization-type constitutional amendment, fiscal decentralization, proximity autonomy, authority transfer, and general administration, and will have time to evaluate the local decentralization implementation roadmap.

Following that, at the Hope Decentralization Concert, comedienne Kim Mi-hwa and comedian Jeon Yu-sung will have a talk concert with Mayor Yim Tae-young to discuss local decentralization, regional co-prosperity, and the future of nation and region, with celebratory performances by Hong Seo-beom, Cho Gap-kyung, and Jose Yoon Band.

Meanwhile, the 'Suwon City Autonomous Decentralization Council,' which was established to strengthen autonomous capacity and realize substantive local autonomy and decentralization to improve citizens' quality of life, plans to concentrate all its capabilities this year on realizing policies for strengthening the city's autonomous capacity, such as the 'Suwon Model for a Million-Person City,' against the central government.

Along with this, the city will proceed with policy consultation on autonomous decentralization, support for nationwide decentralization movements, and establishment of the city's business plans for autonomous decentralization. After this inaugural ceremony, the city plans to hold a 'member capacity strengthening workshop' in March and 'autonomous decentralization citizen education' in the first half.

The 'Suwon City Autonomous Decentralization Day Proclamation Ceremony' on this day will be hosted by the Suwon City Autonomous Decentralization Council and the Local Decentralization Constitutional Amendment Civic Movement, and supported by the Solidarity for Economic Justice, National Council of Korean YMCAs, National Association of Local Newspapers, and Regional Broadcasting Council.