11 Organizations Including National Governors Association Call for "Decentralized Constitutional Amendment"

As discussions on constitutional reform have resurfaced, 11 organizations including the National Association of Governors (Metropolitan Autonomous Bodies), the National Association of Mayors, County Governors, and District Heads (Basic Autonomous Bodies) gathered in Seoul on the 3rd to demand a "decentralized constitutional amendment."

On that afternoon, they held a "Debate on National Restructuring and Decentralized Constitutional Amendment" at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, and called in one voice, "The center of national governance must shift to local regions through a decentralized constitutional amendment."

Professor Lee Ki-woo of Inha University presented on the topic of "The Necessity of National Restructuring and Decentralized Constitutional Amendment," stating, "The political circles should make decentralization—which can achieve national development and efficiency from the bottom up—a central agenda in constitutional amendment discussions."

Professor Lee cited the fact that the Sewol ferry disaster that occurred in April of last year resulted in massive casualties partly because the county governor of Jindo and the provincial governor of Jeollanam-do had no authority to respond on-site.

Saenuri Party Representative Lee Jae-o proposed a decentralized constitutional amendment in which the central and local governments would properly share roles within a power structure dominated by the president.

Kim Sung-ho, Director of Policy Research at the National Association of Governors, presented the basic direction for a decentralized constitutional amendment.

He said, "One approach would be to restructure the National Assembly into a bicameral system consisting of a State Assembly and a Local Assembly, and to grant the Local Assembly legislative and revision authority over local government laws to ensure the legislative power of local governments."

The 11 organizations that held the debate plan to launch a Decentralized Constitutional Amendment Forum by the end of this year.