Regular Meeting of the 'National Major Cities Mayors' Council' Held

Yisang-il, Mayor of Yongin, Ends Term... Successor is Lee Gang-deok, Mayor of Pohang

The 'National Council of Mayors of Major Cities,' a gathering of mayors from metropolitan cities with populations exceeding 500,000, announced on the 26th that it held the '4th Regular Meeting of the 8th Elected Term' in a non-face-to-face format.

Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin City, is presiding over the regular meeting of the National Large Cities Mayors' Council held online on the 26th.
[Photo by Yongin City]

The National Council of Mayors of Major Cities is composed of heads of metropolitan cities with populations over 500,000. Starting from this meeting, Paju City in Gyeonggi Province joined, increasing the number of member cities to 19.

At the meeting chaired by Lee Sang-il, Mayor of Yongin and president of the council, 12 agenda items were approved as originally proposed with the attendance of 10 city heads and deputy heads. The approved agenda items include ▲establishment of a regulation requiring submission of documents verifying criminal records related to sexual offenses when foreign business operators register ▲relaxation of employment requirements for skilled foreign workers ▲clarification of value-added tax exemption targets for local public corporation agency projects ▲easing regulations on changing the use of residential lodging facilities ▲revision of the Enforcement Decree of the State Property Act ▲joint proposal for amendment of the Government Organization Act to establish the Immigration and Immigration Management Agency ▲promotion of Changneungcheon to a national river ▲establishment of standards for data center construction and damage prevention ▲improvement of the administrative information disclosure request system ▲abolition of the seniority and step system upon promotion ▲recognition of promotion and career periods during the entire parental leave for first and second children ▲and preparation of relocation measures related to the maintenance of the aging planned city in Bundang New Town, totaling 12 items.

Mayor Lee Sang-il said in his greeting, "Thanks to the roles of the mayors belonging to the council of major cities, the 19 cities have achieved significant development," adding, "It is still a reality that many issues remain to be discussed regarding metropolitan city matters."

The meeting also continued with discussions and decisions on the selection of new executives. With the end of Mayor Lee Sang-il’s term, who served as the council president for the past two years, Mayor Lee Kang-deok of Pohang City, Gyeongbuk Province, succeeded the presidency. Mayor Lee Kang-deok, elected as the 22nd council president, will serve until June 30, 2025.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok stated, "Reflecting the intentions of the mayors of the 19 member cities, I will do my utmost to ensure that the operation of metropolitan cities with populations over 500,000 can receive even a little support."