Chairman Nam Jong-seop Accelerates Efforts to Enact 'Local Assembly Act'

Nam Jong-seop, Chairman of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party, Yongin District 3), added academic expertise to the discussion on enacting the Local Assembly Act and broadened the foundation for policy and research cooperation for the development of local assemblies.

Nam Jong-seop, Chairman of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly (Democratic Party, Yongin District 3) and Chairman of the Council of Provincial Assembly Chairmen of the Republic of Korea, held a policy seminar jointly with the Korean Association of Public Administration on the 21st at the second conference room of the National Assembly under the theme "New Local Assemblies, New Local Democracy—Seeking Change Through Local Assembly Act Legislation."

Chairman Nam stated, "The enactment of the Local Assembly Act is a matter of enhancing the independence and expertise of local assemblies and establishing a foundation for them to fulfill their proper role as representative bodies of residents. Through this seminar and cooperation agreement, I will connect the expertise of academia with the practical experience of local assemblies to make legislative tasks more concrete."

The "Special Committee for Promoting the Enactment of the Local Assembly Act" within the Council of Provincial Assembly Chairmen of the Republic of Korea was also launched on this day. Choi Jong-hyun (Democratic Party, Suwon District 7), who serves as the head of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly's Task Force for promoting the enactment of the Local Assembly Act, was selected as the committee chair.

This seminar was organized to add academic expertise to discussions on enacting the Local Assembly Act and to broaden the foundation for policy and research cooperation for the development of local assemblies.

The event was attended by Chairman Nam, Ahn Shin-il, Head of the Task Force for Local Assembly Act Enactment of the Council of Provincial Assembly Chairmen of the Republic of Korea (Chairman of the Sejong Special Self-Governing City Assembly), Sung Si-gyeong, President of the Korean Association of Public Administration, and others from the National Assembly, local assemblies, and academia. Song Ki-heon, Chairman of the National Assembly's Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Telecommunications Committee, a co-host, also attended.

The seminar discussed the significance of enacting the Local Assembly Act and its connection to the realization of residents' sovereignty, as well as key issues and legislative tasks of local assembly bills introduced in the National Assembly. Policies for strengthening the capacity of local assemblies and measures to enhance the status and authority of local assemblies in the process of constitutional amendment for local decentralization were also addressed.

Following the seminar, a business agreement was also signed between the Council of Provincial Assembly Chairmen of the Republic of Korea and the Korean Association of Public Administration for the development of local assemblies.

Chairman Nam agreed with the Korean Association of Public Administration to promote ▲establishment of cooperation networks for information exchange and collaboration related to academic research, education, and research ▲policy consultation, research, and institutional improvement for the development of local assemblies such as the enactment of the Local Assembly Act ▲joint research for the development of local assemblies and mutual advancement of both organizations.