Incheon City Council Proposal for Local Council Act Final Draft Nears Completion

City Council Autonomy and Decentralization Development Study Group, 2nd Debate on the Necessity of Enacting the Local Council Act

The final draft of the Local Council Act proposed by the Incheon City Council is expected to be completed soon.

The 'Autonomous Decentralization Development Research Group,' a research organization of city council members, announced on the 29th that it recently held a forum on the theme of 'The Necessity of Enacting the Local Council Act' at the seminar room of the City Council's Administrative Safety Committee.

The forum was attended by Heo Sik, Chairperson of the City Council, research group members Councilors Lee Dan-bi, Kim Jae-dong, and Kim Yong-hee (Guk·Yeonsu 2), advisory members of the research group including Kim Seung-hwan, Chief Attorney of Law Office GB, Han Yong-hyun, Attorney at Law Won (Limited), Cho Seung-hyun, Chief Attorney of Law Firm Cheonghyang, and Attorney Do Hyeong-ho of Law Firm A-Part, who engaged in a heated discussion regarding the preparation of the Local Council Act.

Chairperson Heo said in his opening remarks, "At the city council level, since March, we have formed and operated a task force (TF) linked with the council members' research group, achieving progress in preparing the Local Council Act." He added, "We are currently in discussions with members of the National Assembly and are doing our best to pass the bill within the term of the 21st National Assembly."

Following this, Councilor Kim Yong-hee, who presented the topic, stated, "Voices calling for the enactment of the Local Council Act are continuously emerging not only in the National Assembly but also in other local councils." He emphasized, "The necessity of enacting the Local Council Act is fully recognized for genuine local autonomy and balanced regional development."

At the second debate on the "Need for Enactment of the Local Council Act" hosted by the Incheon City Council's Autonomy and Decentralization Development Research Group on the 26th, Chairman Heo Sik of the City Council (third from the right) and participants are taking a commemorative photo. 2023.10.26
Photo by Incheon City Council

Attorney Do Hyeong-ho, who participated as a discussant, compared the current Local Autonomy Act and the National Assembly Act's provisions on the prohibition of concurrent positions, arguing, "The concurrent holding of positions by local council members should be fundamentally prohibited at the level of National Assembly members, and exceptions should only be allowed within the scope that does not interfere with their duties." He insisted, "It is necessary to establish an effective regulation on the prohibition of concurrent positions."

Kim Seung-hwan, an advisory member of the research group, emphasized the need to increase the number of aides, stating, "For the sake of improving work efficiency for both local council members and policy support officers, it is necessary to assign one aide per local council member, which will further lead to positive effects benefiting local residents."

Attorney Han Yong-hyun said, "Personnel hearings are an important mechanism through which local councils can check the authority of local governments." He added, "It is inappropriate to exclude deputy mayors and vice governors, who are considered local public officials, from the scope of personnel hearings, so this needs to be supplemented."

Additionally, Attorney Cho Seung-hyun proposed, "Since there is a constitutional incompatibility ruling that excluding local council members from the designation of supporters, unlike National Assembly members, is an unreasonable discrimination, including related provisions in the Local Council Act could be one way to address this."

Councilor Lee Dan-bi, who chaired the forum, expressed hope that "the various opinions raised at the forum will serve as a foundation for enacting the Local Council Act that strengthens the independence and secures the autonomy of local councils in the future."