Urgent Need for Special City Special Act and Dedicated Support Organization for Special Cities
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Song Jong-gu] Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam will mark its first anniversary on the 13th.
With the enforcement of the Local Autonomy Act, completely revised for the first time in 32 years on January 13 last year, four major cities with populations over one million, including Changwon in Gyeongnam and Suwon, Yongin, and Goyang in Gyeonggi, gained the status of special cities and established a foundation for securing special privileges reflecting their urban characteristics.
A representative change that citizens can feel with the launch of the special city is the expansion of "social welfare benefits."
Citizens who were excluded, dropped out, or applied under lowered criteria for eligibility have been able to enjoy benefits, and according to actual frontline reception results (as of November 2022), 10,634 Changwon Special City citizens who were in welfare blind spots can now receive an additional 14.9 billion KRW in annual welfare benefits.
With the firefighting safety grant tax increased by more than 50%, an additional 10 billion KRW in finances has been secured over five years.
Based on this, Changwon City will be the first nationwide to support the installation of fire extinguishers and residential fire alarms in all detached houses and multi-family houses.
Additionally, firefighting equipment will be installed in welfare facilities for the elderly and disabled to prepare for electrical fires, and special firefighting equipment will be introduced to prepare for fires in high-rise apartments and large-scale facilities.
Through amendments to related laws, the authority for ▲development and operation of port facilities at locally managed trade ports ▲management of public waters within the port area of locally managed trade ports is scheduled to be transferred on April 27, and ▲participation rights in the Central Port Policy Deliberation Committee have also been transferred and approved from the deliberation of the Presidential Autonomy and Decentralization Committee.
As a result, Changwon City has secured autonomous development and management authority over the locally managed trade port (Jinhae Port), the only basic local government to do so, and it is expected that Changwon citizens will enjoy the benefits of port development tailored to regional characteristics.
Furthermore, tasks such as ▲development and operation of logistics complexes ▲work related to mountain area use permits ▲imposition and collection of environmental improvement charges ▲formation and operation of local construction technology review committees ▲registration, cancellation, and support of non-profit private organizations ▲designation and evaluation of tourism special zones ▲consultation on designation of new technology startup clusters will be sequentially transferred starting from April.
By directly handling these tasks, the city can respond promptly to various citizen complaints, and by more easily reflecting local demands in areas where it was difficult to express opinions, such as port facility development and logistics complex development and operation, the quality of administrative services is expected to improve.
On the other hand, slow legislative procedures, comprehensive authority transfer, and securing finances remain challenges.
To overcome these challenges, the enactment of a special law containing comprehensive authority transfer and financial privileges and the establishment of a dedicated support organization for special cities are urgently needed.
The city is determined to devote all efforts this year to strengthening the foundation of the special city, starting with a National Assembly policy forum for the enactment of the "Special City Support Special Act" to be held in February.
Hong Nam-pyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, said, "As the only special city outside the metropolitan area, Changwon Special City is advancing beyond being the central city of Gyeongnam to becoming a Northeast Asia hub city with its elevated urban status and authority since its launch," adding, "We will secure more authority through internal strengthening so that benefits return to citizens, the administrative demanders."
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