Gyeongnam Governor Park Wan-su: "Give Us Real Authority Including Central Finance and Personnel"

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] “Please transfer the actual authority such as financial resources and personnel from the central government to local governments.”

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, said this on the 10th at the 3rd Central-Local Cooperation Meeting held at Jeonbuk Provincial Office, presided over by the President.

“If only authority is transferred from the central government to local governments, it could rather become a burden for the local governments, so financial resources, organizations, and personnel must be transferred together,” he emphasized, “Administrative and financial resources must also come together so that local governments can work properly.”

“Even if there are public health centers in rural fishing villages, doctors cannot be found, and although Changwon, a city with a population of 1 million, still does not have a medical school, Gyeongnam also lacks law schools and institutes of science and technology,” he said, adding, “Please pay special attention to Gyeongnam from the perspective of national balanced development so that institutions that nurture talent can be evenly distributed nationwide.”

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, is speaking at the 3rd Central-Local Cooperation Meeting.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

Governor Park also said, “Local governments are facing a population cliff and labor cliff, and in Gyeongnam, the manufacturing industry’s unfilled rate exceeds 30%, causing difficulties for business owners.”

“Gyeongnam Province is even considering establishing an organization to solve the shortage of industrial site personnel on its own,” he said, requesting measures such as national-level support for industrial site jobs and the establishment of organizations to secure foreign manpower.

According to the province, the meeting was attended by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, ministers and vice ministers from major central government ministries such as the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, governors of cities and provinces, chairpersons of city and provincial councils, chairpersons of city, county, and district mayors’ associations, and chairpersons of city, county, and district council associations.

The amendment plan for the Enforcement Decree of the Central-Local Cooperation Meeting Act and improvement measures for the fund responding to local extinction were approved, and reports on the plan to promote the transfer of central authority to local governments and the expansion plan for local government autonomy organization rights were made.

Progress reports were also conducted on the plan to revitalize local investment (draft), the plan for the integrated transfer of special local administrative agencies, and the plan to rationalize local education finance.

Gyeongnam Province stated that the plan to promote the transfer of central authority to local governments included the expansion of authority to lift development restriction zones and the transfer of authority to negotiate recognition of public interest in land expropriation, which the province had proactively proposed.

Afterwards, Governor Park discussed the agenda submitted to the Central-Local Cooperation Meeting and measures to strengthen the functions and finances of local governments at the temporary general meeting of the Korea Association of City and Provincial Governors.

At the Yeongnam Region Future Development Council, attended by five governors from the Yeongnam region, opinions were exchanged on cooperation plans for joint development of the Yeongnam region, including balanced local development.