Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon: "Autonomy is Key to Solving Regional Extinction"

Presentation at the Provincial Governors' Policy Conference on the 10th
"Overcoming Crisis with the Four Small Power Projects"

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon emphasized that the 'autonomy' of local governments is key for South Korea to overcome the crisis of regional extinction.

Mayor Oh attended the '2024 Governors Policy Conference' held at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seoul on the 10th and stated, "Regions without autonomy inevitably face a greater risk of extinction."

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is giving a presentation on the theme of "A Paradigm Shift Between Central and Local Governments to Address the Population Crisis" at the "2024 Governors' Policy Conference" held at the Four Seasons Hotel Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Seoul City

He also said that administrative reform is needed for the 'Four Small Powerhouse Project,' which maximizes the transfer of autonomy to four local government regions. The Four Small Powerhouse Project is Mayor Oh's idea, inspired by countries with small populations but rapid increases in national income over a short period, such as Ireland, Singapore, and Dubai.

Mayor Oh explained, "After analyzing the strategies that enabled ultra-fast economic growth, it became clear that the comprehensive administrative governance system must be completely changed from the current structure. The central government should retain only diplomacy and security, while all other economic, development, and welfare policies should be fully transferred to local governments."

He also saw the transfer of fiscal authority as essential for decentralization. He added, "Currently, the ratio of national tax to local tax is about 8 to 2, but the proportion available for local use should be raised to 50%."

Mayor Oh emphasized, "The core of the matter is granting discretionary power so that local governments can confidently implement development strategies competitively, like those used in Dubai, Singapore, and Ireland, by taking control of administrative governance systems and revenue and expenditure authority."

The local governments to receive discretionary power are divided into four metropolitan economic zones: Yeongnam, Honam, Chungcheong, and the Seoul Capital Area. Mayor Oh said, "It is no exaggeration to call this a national transformation. Only by pursuing such groundbreaking changes can we minimize regional extinction based on regional development and ultimately solve population issues."