Step Forward on Local Assembly Act...Gyeonggi Province Assembly Chairman Nam Jong-seop: "Organization, Budget, Personnel Must Be Included in the Bill"
The Gyeonggi Province Assembly held a 'Forum for the Enactment of the Local Assembly Act' on the 29th to discuss major systems and legislative directions needed for the Local Assembly Act with relevant parties from the National Assembly, government, academia, and local assemblies.
The forum, held at the Do Assembly Yedamchae, was organized as a continuation of the legislative activities for the enactment of the Local Assembly Act that the Gyeonggi Province Assembly has pursued, including the formation of a 'Local Assembly Act Enactment Promotion Task Force,' preparation of its own draft bill, and recommendations to the National Assembly. On the occasion of the 35th anniversary of the revival of local assemblies, it aims to move beyond the stage of publicizing the necessity of legislation and to specify institutional content in the bill that will support independence and expertise.
The forum was co-hosted by the Do Assembly, the National Assembly Research Service, and the Korea Legislation Research Institute, and was sponsored by the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Security, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Council of Chairs of Provincial Councils of the Republic of Korea.
National Assembly Member Kang Deuk-gu delivered a keynote speech on the theme 'Necessity of Enacting the Local Assembly Act,' and Ha Hae-young, Senior Research Fellow of the National Assembly Research Service, and Kang Hyun-chul, Senior Research Fellow of the Korea Legislation Research Institute, presented papers on 'Current Status and Tasks of the Local Assembly Bill' and 'Issues in the Enactment of the Local Assembly Act,' respectively.
Following this, a discussion was held with Lee Hyang-su, Chair of the Korean Society of Local Administration, serving as moderator, and participants including Ahn Gwang-ryul, the Democratic Party Representative Member of the Do Assembly (Siheung District 1), Hwang Ji-eun, Research Fellow at the Korea Legislation Research Institute, Park Hyun-uk, Professor of Public Administration at Kyonggi University, Lee Jin-su, President and CEO of Ajou University's INI Research, and Lee Hyun-jik, Official of the Election and Assembly Autonomy Regulations Division at the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
In the discussion, emphasis was placed on how to incorporate into the bill the institutional foundation necessary for local assemblies to fulfill their roles as independent representative bodies. Participants discussed the establishment and operation of legislative support organizations to stably support legislative activities and internal audit organizations to enhance accountability of local assemblies, as well as strengthening the expertise of assembly members, expanding support staff for legislative activities, improving the treatment of local assembly members, and the necessity of independence in budgetary and organizational authority.
Discussions also took place on how to divide the roles between laws and autonomous ordinances. Participants suggested that the Local Assembly Act should contain a basic framework of authority and autonomy commonly applied to local assemblies nationwide, while specific operational matters should be set by each local assembly according to its circumstances through ordinances or assembly rules.
Nam Jong-seop, Chairman of the Gyeonggi Province Assembly (Democratic Party, Yongin District 3), said, "Local assemblies are increasingly required to take on more responsibilities, but their organization, budget, and personnel remain constrained," and emphasized, "Now we must move beyond the stage of discussing the necessity of enacting the Local Assembly Act and provide concrete answers on what should substantively be included in the bill and how to create systems that will actually function in the field."