Jeon Hae-cheol Marks 6 Months in Office with Tireless Efforts to Overcome COVID-19... Challenges Ahead in Autonomous Police and Fiscal Decentralization

Support for Local Governments on COVID-19 Prevention and Vaccination... Vaccination Centers, Public Health Centers, and Private Medical Institutions Ready
Zero Tolerance for Fake News, 18 Cases Referred
Secured 20 Trillion Won Disaster Safety Budget This Year... Nationwide Pilot Operation in June Ahead of Autonomous Police System Launch Next Month
Slow Fiscal Decentralization, Phase 2 Implementation Next Year

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] 'Overcoming COVID-19, decentralization, government innovation, public safety ...'

These are the keywords summarizing the actions of Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, who marked six months in office on the 24th. Minister Jeon's top priority is overcoming COVID-19. Serving concurrently as the second deputy head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (CDSCH), Minister Jeon has been receiving daily situation reports. To prevent COVID-19, he has supported local governments with organization, personnel, and finances, and prepared 282 vaccination centers, 256 public health centers, and about 14,000 private commissioned medical institutions to accelerate vaccination for the general public following the high-risk age groups.

As the head of the ministry prioritizing public safety and disaster management, he has declared a zero-tolerance policy toward 'fake news.' Ahead of the first half vaccination campaign, various rumors surrounding syringes and vaccines have been causing public anxiety, prompting strict responses. About 180 cases of fake news related to the COVID-19 situation, including President Moon Jae-in syringe swapping and human gene mutation theories of the vaccine, have been identified and are under investigation. Among these, 18 cases have already been referred to investigative agencies.

The demolition site accident in Gwangju Metropolitan City and the fire at the logistics center in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province, have reminded the importance of 'safety administration.' Since Minister Jeon’s philosophy is that the state must be responsible for the everyday safety of its citizens, he has secured and is executing a budget exceeding 20 trillion won this year. The whole-government disaster safety budget surpassed 17.5 trillion won last year and 20 trillion won this year. In particular, to expand preventive projects targeting areas with high disaster risk, the related budget was increased by nearly 1 trillion won from 490 billion won to 590 billion won. In May, the 'Wind and Flood Insurance Act' was partially amended, achieving a government support rate of 87% for natural disaster vulnerable areas.

'Decentralization 2.0' and 'Phase 2 Fiscal Decentralization' are major national tasks of the Moon Jae-in administration and challenging issues to resolve. The autonomous police system, set for full implementation next month, has already completed ordinance enactment and revision in all 17 metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide, preparing for launch. Minister Jeon is cooperating with the Presidential Committee on Autonomy and Decentralization and the National Police Agency to conduct a pilot operation throughout June. After the system’s implementation, he plans to support early stabilization by addressing any shortcomings.

Fiscal decentralization, which began this year, is progressing relatively slowly. Since each local government has different fiscal scales and varying income and expenditure, there are considerable practical constraints even if the national and local tax structures are reformed. Despite these constraints, Minister Jeon is determined to prepare a government plan for Phase 2 fiscal decentralization aiming for implementation next year. To expand autonomy in local fiscal management this year, the separate limit for refinancing local bonds due for repayment will be increased from 25% to 100%, and plans to accelerate redesigning local tax exemptions, discovering new tax sources, and strengthening delinquent tax collection are underway.