Oh Se-hoon: "A 'Quantum Jump' Is Possible Only by Decentralizing Central Government Authority"

"Elite Civil Servants Descend from Central to Local Government
Budget Also at a 50-50 Level, Not '20% Local Autonomy'"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon emphasized that for local governments to advance, elite civil servants from central government agencies such as the Ministry of Economy and Finance must be decentralized to local levels.

At the keynote special talk during the '2024 Korean Political Science Association International Conference' held on the 23rd at Dongseo University Centum Campus in Busan, Mayor Oh stated, "To achieve a quantum leap in local hubs, the entire administrative governance system must be completely changed," adding, "The key is to decentralize and distribute all human resources and trained elite civil servants from the central government to local governments."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is speaking at a special discussion held at 10 a.m. on the 23rd at Dongseo University in Busan during the '2024 Korean Political Science Association International Conference.' Photo by Seoul City.

He stressed that to establish a groundbreaking local development strategy, most central government civil servants need to be dispersed to local areas. "In conclusion, the central government should transfer nearly 80% of its authority to local governments, and the central government should only handle diplomacy and security like a federal system," he said. "Unless we have a paradigm shift where only a quarter of competent civil servants, like those from the Ministry of Economy and Finance, remain at the center and the rest are sent down to local governments, it will be difficult for local governments to develop strategies using only their own personnel."

He also mentioned the need to transfer authority to local governments in terms of budget, not just personnel. Mayor Oh said, "There was a time when local autonomy was called '20% autonomy.' If the central government holds 80% of the budget and local governments only 20% to develop, no strategy can emerge," and insisted, "At least a 50-50 distribution should be made." He further stated that it is necessary to actively support the establishment of specialized economic development models by granting local governments regulatory relaxation authority and delegating powers related to higher education and foreigner attraction policies.

Mayor Oh named the strategy of dividing the country into four metropolitan areas?Capital Region, Chungcheong Region, Yeongnam Region, and Honam Region?and transferring various authorities to these local governments as the 'Four Strong Small Nations Project.' He elaborated, "By changing the administrative governance system like this to provide the foundation for growth and allowing them to freely establish specialized strategies, having four Singapores or four strong small nations may not be impossible."

Meanwhile, prior to Mayor Oh, Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon also gave opening remarks on the same topic. Following this, the two mayors engaged in a detailed discussion on each subject, diagnosing the recent domestic and international challenges facing South Korea and continuing a dialogue to seek solutions for national prosperity.