"Welcoming the Local Transfer Act but Must Accompany Fiscal Decentralization"

Association of Local Governments for Decentralization Holds First General Meeting of the New Year, Urges Genuine Decentralization... Special Roundtable Discusses Implementation Plans for the 'Green New Deal'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Council of Local Governments for Decentralization (Chairman Seok-jin Moon, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu·photo) held the first regular general meeting of 2020 on the 28th at 2 p.m. at the conference room on the 3rd floor of Seoul Square, with about 100 participants including more than 20 local government heads belonging to the council and various experts.

At the general meeting, the council decided to simultaneously strengthen both the scope and substance of decentralization by expanding this year’s Decentralization Expo and developing and presenting practical policy agendas for decentralization.

At the resolution rally held after the general meeting, a resolution urging and pledging the realization of true decentralization was announced.

The council highly evaluated the passage of the Local Transfer Act at the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 9th of this month as the first step to transfer the authority and responsibilities concentrated in the central government to local governments, laying the foundation for local autonomy and resident autonomy, which are the core of decentralization.

However, it emphasized that for the transfer of duties to local governments to lead to a tangible experience for residents, financial support must accompany it, and that this is the true path to realizing decentralization.

The council stated that amendments to the Local Tax Act, Local Finance Act, Value-Added Tax Act, etc., which aim to grant broad financial authority to local governments, are still pending in the National Assembly, and strongly urged the political circles once again to legislate decentralization laws using the Local Transfer Act as an opportunity.

Furthermore, since true decentralization can only be achieved through constitutional amendment, the council pledged to spare no effort to realize grassroots democracy through this process.

Following this, a special roundtable hosted by the Future Decentralization Research Institute was held to share the recently spotlighted “Green New Deal” and discuss practical measures with experts.

The “Green New Deal” refers to an environmental policy that combines climate crisis response and green energy transition with economic development. Along with national-level efforts, regionally tailored environmental policies by local governments are emphasized.

Especially due to recent national damages caused by fine dust, its importance has grown even more in South Korea, and many local governments showed deep interest in the “Green New Deal” during the event.

Seok-jin Moon, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu and chairman of the Council of Local Governments for Decentralization, said, “The basic spirit of decentralization is to grant more authority and responsibility to local governments closely connected to residents’ lives to achieve residents’ happiness,” and urged the political circles to devote themselves to legislating decentralization laws including constitutional amendment for its realization.

Founded in 2016, the Council of Local Governments for Decentralization currently has 42 local governments nationwide participating and is actively engaged in activities for decentralization.

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◇Resolution Urging the Realization of True Decentralization

On January 9, 2020, the Local Transfer Act was passed at the plenary session of the 374th National Assembly extraordinary session. We actively welcome the passage of the Local Transfer Act as the first step to transfer excessively concentrated authority and responsibilities from the central government to local governments, and highly evaluate that the foundation for local autonomy and resident autonomy, the core of decentralization, has been established.

However, this is only the first step for decentralization, and many challenges remain to be solved. In particular, for the transfer of duties to local governments to lead to a tangible experience for residents, administrative authority transfer and financial support must accompany it. That is the true path to realizing decentralization.

Nevertheless, amendments to the Local Tax Act, Local Finance Act, Value-Added Tax Act, etc., which aim to grant broad financial authority to local governments, are still pending in the National Assembly, and there is no prospect of their passage. Moreover, as the general election approaches, the political circles are preoccupied only with election-related interests and pay little attention to the realization of decentralization.

Decentralization is a practical measure to develop the entire Republic of Korea beyond political interests. It is also an inevitable choice to cultivate the future of Korea by dispersing resources concentrated in the central government to local governments. Therefore, we urge the political circles once again to make efforts to legislate decentralization laws using the Local Transfer Act as an opportunity.

Furthermore, many scholars and experts have pointed out that true decentralization can only be completed through constitutional amendment. The current constitution, enacted more than 30 years ago, no longer adequately reflects the realities of a diversified modern society. To return sovereignty to the people, the true owners, a decentralization constitutional amendment is essential.

The Council of Local Governments for Decentralization will spare no effort until the day true decentralization is realized. We will also do our best to achieve grassroots democracy by returning authority to residents through decentralization.

January 28, 2020

All members of the Council of Local Governments for Decentralization