Seoul District Mayors Association Chair Lee Dong-jin (Dobong District Mayor) and Secretary-General Kim Soo-young (Yangcheon District Mayor) to Announce Council Resolutions on the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and Child Abuse Prevention at 2 PM on the 21st
Lee Dong-jin, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors (Mayor of Dobong-gu), is briefing on the discussions held at the Council of District Mayors meeting earlier that day at 2 PM on the 21st in the City Hall briefing room.
[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors (Chairman Dong-jin Lee, Dobong District Mayor) held its first district mayor council meeting of the year, the 156th regular meeting, on the 21st at 9 a.m. via a non-face-to-face video conference to observe social distancing.
The meeting began with opening remarks by Chairman Dong-jin Lee and greetings from each district mayor. A total of 12 agenda items from 9 autonomous districts were presented.
The agenda items from each district were presented and explained by the respective district. Following this, other districts expressed their agreement, disagreement, or additional proposals.
As a result of the meeting, the following were approved: ▲ Improvement of the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s transit station area youth housing supply support system ▲ Proposal to adjust indicators for government joint evaluation of pollutant-emitting business sites ▲ Proposal for land-use zone changes to expand central areas ▲ Improvement of the regional housing association member recruitment reporting system.
Additionally, the following 11 agenda items were approved: ▲ Establishment of safety measures for personal mobility devices (electric kickboards) ▲ Proposal to amend laws for maintaining and managing district unit plan implementation ▲ Proposal to improve issues related to support for disabled welfare facilities relocated to local governments in Seoul ▲ Strengthening qualification restrictions for bidding participation by companies with major accidents ▲ Proposal to expand infrastructure for public investigation of child abuse ▲ Proposal to establish regional temporary protection facilities for abused children ▲ Formation and operation of joint response teams between districts and police for child abuse response, among others.
This meeting focused particularly on social issues such as the Serious Accidents Punishment Act and child abuse prevention, including strengthening qualification restrictions for bidding participation by companies with major accidents and proposals for regional temporary protection facilities for abused children.
Dobong District proposed strengthening the qualification restrictions for bidding participation by companies with major accidents, suggesting that with the passage of the “Serious Accidents Punishment Act,” the existing discretionary provisions restricting companies that caused serious accidents from bidding on public institutions such as local governments should be revised into mandatory provisions, and the restriction period for bidding participation should be significantly extended.
Dong-jin Lee, Dobong District Mayor, who presented on companies with major accidents, stated, “According to Article 159 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act, Enforcement Decree Article 110, and Enforcement Rules Article 238, when two or more deaths occur in an accident, the Minister of Employment and Labor may request the heads of related administrative agencies to impose business suspension or other sanctions. However, as this is a discretionary provision, it lacks effectiveness. In fact, only two companies registered with the Public Procurement Service in 2020 caused serious accidents.”
He added, “There is a strong need to convert this into a mandatory provision. The restriction on bidding participation for public institutions is currently set at less than one year and seven months, which weakens the punitive effect. Therefore, Article 159 of the Industrial Safety and Health Act and Article 238 of the Enforcement Rules should be revised so that the Minister of Employment and Labor ‘must request’ business suspension or other sanctions, rather than ‘may request.’ Also, the restriction period stipulated in Article 76 of the Local Contract Act Enforcement Rules should be significantly strengthened.”
Meanwhile, three out of four agenda items related to abused children, including the “Proposal to expand infrastructure for public investigation of child abuse” suggested by Gangdong, Dobong, and Yangcheon Districts, were approved.
The agenda on expanding infrastructure for public investigation of child abuse noted that due to the 24-hour nature of the work, at least four dedicated officials working in pairs on shifts must be assigned. To achieve this, one dedicated staff member should be assigned per 25 child abuse reports. However, the current principle of one staff per 50 reports is not even being met, causing difficulties in fieldwork at the district level. The District Mayors’ Council decided to review the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s plan announced on January 19, which includes various measures for dedicated personnel operation, and to submit additional proposals to the government if necessary after review.
Regarding the agenda on the formation and operation of joint response teams between districts and police for child abuse response, the government announced guidelines to clarify roles and responsibilities among dedicated officials, police, and child protection agencies to prevent refusal of investigation by child abuse investigation subjects caused by the bifurcated response system. The Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors agreed to propose and negotiate with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and Seoul City to form joint response teams at the district level even before the government plan is finalized and implemented.
Additionally, the proposal to expand temporary protection facilities for abused children was approved. With the system to immediately separate abused children reported two or more times starting March this year, the number of children requiring temporary protection is expected to increase. Currently, Seoul has only two such facilities, one each in Gangnam and Dongdaemun Districts, with a total capacity of 150. The Council proposed a “significant expansion” of facilities to meet the demand for temporary protection.
The agenda to promote revision of the Judicial Police Duties Act for efficient performance of child abuse-related duties proposed adding “child abuse dedicated duties” to the scope of special judicial police duties. This would allow district heads to have overall authority and responsibility for child abuse dedicated duties, improving collaboration and rapid response between districts and police in reporting, receiving, field dispatch, and investigation of child abuse cases.
However, there was consensus that dedicated officials would require sufficient prior preparation such as specialized training to perform judicial police duties beyond administrative tasks. The Council decided to reconsider after the government plan is prepared and supplemented if necessary.
The results of this meeting, where each district mayor deliberated and approved individual agenda items, will be further discussed in depth at the 157th regular meeting between Seoul City and autonomous districts next month, and proposals will be submitted to relevant central government and Seoul City departments.
Lee Dong-jin, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors (Dobong-gu Mayor, right) and Kim Soo-young, Secretary General of the Council of District Mayors (Kim Soo-young, Yangcheon-gu Mayor, left)
The agenda items deliberated and approved were announced at 2 p.m. on the same day at the Seoul City Hall briefing room, presided over by Dong-jin Lee, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors, and the Council’s opinions gathered at this meeting were conveyed with weight through a Q&A session with the press.
After the briefing, Chairman Dong-jin Lee stated, “Efforts and opinions originating from basic local governments that actually enforce laws can be the starting point for solving social issues,” and added, “Going forward, the Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors will share excellent policies of autonomous districts through regular meetings and actively propose and negotiate with central ministries and Seoul City on legal and institutional improvements needed for various issues through active participation and discussions among districts.”
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