[Column] Customs and Common Sense of Cheonan City Council, and Growing Pains

Multiple-term and senior officials cannot be competitive at the citizens' level

The Cheonan City Council is experiencing growing pains over the election of the second half chairman.

Voices advocating for the introduction of fair competition in line with changing times, instead of the long-standing customs of multiple terms and seniority, are gradually increasing. It is also true that concerns coexist, warning that if customs and precedents collapse, confusion and internal conflicts will inevitably grow.

However, the dictionary definition of custom refers to an order or practice that has been observed for a long time in a society and widely recognized by its members. Conversely, this means that unless the members widely recognize it, it has no meaning as a custom.

Since the need to introduce fair competition has already been raised internally, the existing method has fallen from being a ‘custom’ to a ‘bad practice.’ It is only a matter of time; change is the era’s ‘common sense.’

Among the 243 local councils nationwide, 90 elect their chairpersons through candidate registration, and 170 select standing committee chairs by election.

Given Cheonan’s status as the capital city of Chungnam Province and its population approaching 700,000, it can no longer insist on a chairman election method that is criticized as being less sophisticated than an elementary school class president election.

As the independence of personnel authority in local councils has strengthened the council’s functions, the standards by which citizens view the council inevitably rise. Only enhanced morality and professional legislative activities can meet citizens’ expectations. Multiple terms and seniority cannot be absolute standards to meet these expectations.

The People Power Party, which holds the key to the chairman election, has announced a full council meeting on the 1st of next month. It is also true that a fierce debate over the chairman election method is likely.

We hope that the intense debate among council members on that day will become a meaningful growing pain.