The Gyeonggi Provincial Council is pushing to establish a 'Legislative Training Institute' with the goal of opening in 2027, becoming the first local council in the country to do so.
To this end, the Gyeonggi Provincial Council commissioned the Gyeonggi Research Institute in April to conduct a feasibility study on the establishment of the Legislative Training Institute, with the study expected to be completed by the end of this month.
According to the interim results, the Legislative Training Institute is estimated to require a site area of 36,000㎡ and a total building floor area of 20,000㎡, including educational training facilities and lodging. The total project cost is projected to be around 90 billion KRW.
The Provincial Council has also decided to operate a Legislative Research Institute (research center) alongside the Legislative Training Institute and is currently conducting feasibility and basic planning studies for its establishment.
Both the Legislative Training Institute and the Legislative Research Institute are campaign pledges of the current Provincial Council Chairperson, Kim Jin-kyung.
However, some critics question whether it is necessary to spend as much as 90 billion KRW of taxpayers' money to build the Legislative Training Institute. Furthermore, as an alternative, it has been suggested that if the institute is needed, the building could be utilized when public institutions under the province gradually relocate to the Northern Government Complex after next year.
Meanwhile, a survey conducted in July by the Gyeonggi Research Institute targeting 768 people, including members of the Provincial Council, 31 city and county councils, and council office staff, showed that 77.2% supported the establishment of the Legislative Training Institute, and 64.5% preferred a combination of educational and recreational functions.
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