Seoul District Mayors Association Resolution to Recommend Election Commission on Unreasonable Election Law Amendments

Seoul District Mayors' Association Holds Regular Meeting on the Morning of the 14th... Chairman Lee Seongheon: "We Will Fully Prepare for Winter to Prevent Various Disasters and Safety Accidents Such as Cold Waves and Fires During the Year-End and New Year Period"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] The Seoul Metropolitan Council of District Mayors (Chairman Seongheon Lee, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu) held its 175th regular meeting at 7:30 a.m. on the 14th at Conference House Dalgaebi (1st floor).

At this regular meeting, a total of 10 agenda items, including the "Amendment to the Local Tax Act regarding the payment of local consumption tax (district tax)," were reviewed and approved, and other joint issues of autonomous districts were discussed.

In his greeting, Chairman Lee Seongheon said, "As the year-end and New Year approach, it is a time when thorough winter preparations are necessary in each sector to prevent various disasters and safety accidents such as cold waves and fires, ensuring no inconvenience to citizens' lives." He added, "We will do our best to actively cooperate with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to respond for the safety and health of citizens."

During the meeting, the following agenda items were discussed: ▲ Amendment to the Local Tax Act regarding the payment of local consumption tax (district tax) and request for amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Local Tax Act on the automobile tax annual deduction rate (Seodaemun-gu) ▲ Proposal to resolve the differential support for private kindergarten teachers' 'treatment improvement expenses' (Yeongdeungpo-gu) ▲ Proposal for institutional improvement related to station-area youth housing projects (Dongjak-gu) ▲ Expansion of support for rescue and first aid training expenses and expansion of target recipients for the HPV national vaccination support project (Gwanak-gu) ▲ Request for amendment to the Public Official Election Act (Seocho-gu) ▲ Proposal to expand financial support for districts with high birth rates (Gangdong-gu) ▲ Request to reduce the installment interest rate on land purchase costs (Gangdong-gu) ▲ Proposal to improve the specific facility rate in neighborhood parks (Dobong-gu), totaling 10 agenda items reviewed and approved. Following this, the Secretariat of the Council reported one case regarding the 2022 wage and collective agreement results for public officials.

Among these, the proposal to resolve the differential support for private kindergarten teachers' 'treatment improvement expenses' (Yeongdeungpo-gu) requested the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education to provide the same amount of 'treatment improvement expenses' to all private kindergarten teachers within the 25 autonomous districts. This was amended and approved after consolidating attendees' opinions.

Also, the agenda item requesting amendment to the Public Official Election Act (Seocho-gu) decided to form a task force (TF) to conduct an in-depth review of unreasonable election law amendments and comprehensively propose them to the Election Commission. Except for these two cases, the other eight agenda items were all approved as originally proposed.

The major agenda item, "Request for amendment to the Local Tax Act regarding the payment of local consumption tax (district tax) (Seodaemun-gu)," proposed securing district resources by including a provision for proportional payment to compensate for the reduction in district tax due to the sunset of local consumption tax. This proposal gained consensus from most attendees. Additionally, considering the continuous conversion of a portion of value-added tax to local consumption tax to expand local finances, it was suggested that the council should also propose expanding the conversion of a portion of value-added tax to local consumption tax.

The proposal for institutional improvement related to station-area youth housing projects (Dongjak-gu) pointed out that although the station-area youth housing project is currently planned and promoted directly by the Seoul Metropolitan Government, it is being implemented separately from each district’s development plans and redevelopment projects, causing significant disruption to development projects. Accordingly, it was decided to propose an institutional improvement whereby district mayors initiate the plan and the Seoul Metropolitan Government makes the final decision.

In addition, individual agenda items such as ▲ Expansion of support for rescue and first aid training expenses and expansion of target recipients for the HPV national vaccination support project (Gwanak-gu) ▲ Proposal to expand financial support for districts with high birth rates and request to reduce the installment interest rate on land purchase costs (Gangdong-gu) ▲ Proposal to improve the specific facility rate in neighborhood parks (Dobong-gu) will be further discussed in depth at the 176th regular meeting between Seoul City and autonomous districts and subsequently proposed to the central government, relevant Seoul Metropolitan Government departments, and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.

The meeting was attended by Chairman Lee Seongheon, Secretary-General Ilha Park (Mayor of Dongjak-gu), and a total of 22 district mayors (including six deputy mayors attending on behalf of mayors). The 176th regular meeting, to be held jointly with Seoul City, is scheduled for January 11, 2023, at Seoul City Hall.