Gyeonggi Province-Provincial Assembly 'Exclusive Communication Channel' Likely to Disappear … 'Cooperative Governance' Put to Test Amid Fiscal Crisis

Gyeonggi Province is reportedly reviewing a plan not to appoint a Cooperative Governance Director, a position that has served as a communication channel with the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly.

According to Gyeonggi Province and other sources on the 25th, the province appointed Chief Political Secretary Lee Gyou-jin, Spokesperson Hong Eun-gwang, and Public Relations Planning Director Lee Won-gu on the 24th, but did not appoint a Cooperative Governance Director.

While the Chief Political Secretary and Cooperative Governance Director are similar in that they coordinate relationships with political circles, their primary communication targets have differed. The Chief Political Secretary has primarily handled external political affairs with the National Assembly and political parties, while the Cooperative Governance Director has mainly been responsible for coordinating issues with the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly.

The province is viewing overlapping duties and organizational size as major determining factors for appointing a Cooperative Governance Director.

Spokesperson Hong Eun-gwang of Gyeonggi Province stated, "The Cooperative Governance Director and Chief Political Secretary could theoretically divide areas between the National Assembly and Provincial Assembly, but their basic nature is the same, creating overlapping jurisdictions, and we are also considering streamlining the organization. While no final decision on whether to appoint has been made, realistically the possibility of not appointing is high."

If no separate Cooperative Governance Director is appointed, communication duties with the Provincial Assembly are expected to be handled by the Chief Political Secretary.

On the 29th of last month, Governor Choo Mi-ae emphasized continuous communication with the Provincial Assembly at a 'Civilian-Elected 9th Term Gyeonggi Province-Provincial Assembly Meeting' with Provincial Assembly Speaker Nam Jong-seop.

In the work report submitted by the province to the Provincial Assembly, 'Composition and Operation of Continuous Communication Structure between Province and Provincial Assembly' was presented as a major task. The plan is to establish a consultative body to discuss budget proposals, ordinances, and livelihood issues and begin operations starting in September.

In particular, overcoming the fiscal crisis, which Governor Choo has positioned as the top priority for the civilian-elected 9th term, inevitably requires coordination with the Provincial Assembly. Subsequent matters requiring the assembly's consent and cooperation will follow reviews of existing projects and budget restructuring, as well as supplementary budgetary amendments.

Governor Choo has also stated through her social media that she will reorganize the budget centered on essential expenditures and then explain and discuss it with the Provincial Assembly.

There are differing views within the Provincial Assembly regarding the necessity of the Cooperative Governance Director position.

Representative Bang Sung-hwan of the People Power Party in the Provincial Assembly stated, "If we said we would practice cooperative governance, there must be a person to perform that role for substantive communication and coordination. If we acknowledge the necessity but do not appoint someone to perform the role, it is inevitable to question whether this is a one-way approach."

However, with the Democratic Party holding 144 of the Provincial Assembly's 167 seats, this represents a different political environment from the 11th assembly when ruling and opposition parties held equal numbers. Since both the governor and the Provincial Assembly's majority party are Democratic, there are differing views inside and outside the assembly regarding whether the same form of cooperative governance structure as the 8th civilian-elected term is necessary.

An anonymous provincial assembly member requesting anonymity stated, "In a crisis situation, party-government coordination would be far more efficient than formal requirements of cooperative governance. Rather, streamlining the political affairs line could be seen as a symbolic measure demonstrating the gravity of the fiscal crisis."

However, there is also a view that merging even the assembly-dedicated communication channel into one is a separate issue, given the different roles of the executive and assembly.

Provincial Assembly Speaker Nam Jong-seop stated, "The Provincial Assembly is very large, and without communication channels, people will have different thoughts and opinions will inevitably clash. Entrusting only the Chief Political Secretary is risky. To communicate with the assembly, various channels must be opened; making it singular is not appropriate."

The province maintains that whether to appoint a Cooperative Governance Director and cooperative governance between the province and assembly are separate issues.

First Vice Governor Kim Sung-joong stated, "The province's executive and Provincial Assembly are essentially inseparable, so will the purpose of cooperative governance disappear? Regarding the appointment of a Cooperative Governance Director, (Governor Choo, as the personnel authority,) seems to be still deliberating."

전시언 기자 yourside@news-s.kr