Noh Young-kwan: "Local Autonomy Only in Words... Independence in Personnel Authority is Urgent"

Noh Young-kwan, Chairman of the Gyeonggi Province Assembly of City and County Councils and Speaker of Suwon Metropolitan Council, said on the 12th at the '169th Regular Meeting of the National Assembly of Mayors and Heads of Counties/Districts' held at the Ibis Hotel in Suwon, "Local autonomy currently exists only in words, and there remain many tasks to implement, such as achieving independence in personnel authority, to realize genuine autonomy and decentralization."

At this meeting, 15 chairpersons from provincial and municipal associations participated and exchanged opinions regarding the adoption of a proposal to urge amendments to the Code of Conduct for local legislators.

Chairman Noh Young-kwan further stated, "Some provisions of the Code of Conduct are institutionally infringing upon the activities of standing committees under the Local Autonomy Act," and emphasized, "Each provincial representative chairman should unite their efforts so that the Code of Conduct for local assembly members can be amended."

According to the association, when local councils constitute standing committees, the regulations state that members can be excluded from those with direct interests related to committee operations, in compliance with Article 46 of the Enforcement Decree of the Local Autonomy Act. However, the Code of Conduct for local assembly members prohibits appointing executive branch members to relevant standing committees when nominating executive branch committee members.

Furthermore, local councils, which began in 1991, serve as the highest deliberative body of local governments composed of citizens directly elected by residents, contributing to the promotion of public convenience and the development of local autonomy. However, Article 7 of the 'Code of Conduct for Local Assembly Members' stipulated by the Ombudsman seriously hinders the operation of local councils' standing committees and weakens the important functions of local councils to oversee and provide alternatives to executive bodies, according to the association's argument.

Chairpersons of provincial and municipal associations decided to directly deliver a proposal urging amendments to the Code of Conduct to the central government in the name of the association.

Meanwhile, Min Han-ki, Vice Chair of Suwon Metropolitan Council, and Hwang Yong-kwon, Chair of the Operating Committee, received the 'Legislative Service Award' from the association, having been recognized for their contributions to the development of local councils through their work in standing committees and research groups, as well as their faithful performance of oversight and check functions regarding municipal policies.