Is There a Reason Why Local Autonomy Remains Stable Despite Central Political Turmoil?

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon Arrives at City Hall Office Immediately After Martial Law Declaration, Issues Statement: "I Will Do My Best to Protect Citizens' Daily Lives as Mayor"... Followed by Swift Response System Setup with Senior Officials and Assessment of Handling Trash at Protest Sites in Yeongdeungpo-gu and Jongno-gu, Seoul

On the night of December 3rd, martial law was declared. That night, citizens who watched the news began gathering in front of the National Assembly. Another place where the situation was equally tense was Seoul City Hall, responsible for the safety of the citizens.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon went to his office at City Hall immediately after the declaration of martial law and issued a statement saying, “As mayor, I will do my utmost to protect the daily lives of citizens.” He then quickly established a response system together with senior Seoul city officials.

Although martial law was lifted after six hours, the aftermath was severe. Mayor Oh said, “The urgent task now is social and economic stability,” and began preparing comprehensive measures. On the 10th, he held an emergency economic meeting with major economic institutions, discussing extraordinary measures such as early execution of job budgets, restoring trust among foreign investors, and full support for small business owners, showing a strong determination to revive the economy. On the 12th, he held an emergency economic meeting with district mayors to discuss measures for stabilizing the livelihood economy and prices tailored to each district’s circumstances. On the 13th, he demonstrated strong leadership by consecutively holding meetings with foreign financial and investment firms, striving to fill the vacuum left by the central government.

On the 14th, the day of the impeachment vote, large crowds gathered in Yeouido and Gwanghwamun. Seoul City actively responded to citizen safety in cooperation with the police, fire departments, and the Yeongdeungpo and Jongno districts where the rallies took place.

First, Seoul City, in cooperation with the police and fire authorities, deployed over 1,000 on-site management personnel. They also used traffic and security CCTV to monitor crowd density and operated a mobile situation room to share real-time updates on the scene. A disaster safety situation room was also operated. To minimize inconvenience caused by the lack of restrooms, temporary restrooms were urgently installed in Yeouido and Gwanghwamun. To resolve communication disruptions, additional temporary base stations were installed with the cooperation of telecommunications companies.

The rally in front of the National Assembly building in Yeouido attracted a large crowd. Yeongdeungpo District held an emergency meeting and deployed about 100 personnel. They made every effort to manage safety, cleaning, illegal street vendors, and medical support. In particular, since there were only five public restrooms in the area in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, district office staff quickly responded by visiting about 40 nearby private buildings to request restroom access. After the rally ended, despite the cold weather, sanitation workers stayed overnight cleaning the main roads in front of the National Assembly to collect the enormous amount of trash.

Thanks to the hard work and cooperation of Seoul City and district employees, the rallies concluded without major incidents. Even when central politics is shaken and chaotic, local governments firmly fulfill their role as a bulwark protecting citizens’ safety and daily lives such as livelihoods.

There is a representative country where local governments successfully filled the vacuum of central politics: Belgium, an advanced European country. Belgium, with its three language communities and complex political structure, was unable to form a government cabinet for three years over two terms. Yet, its economy showed solid growth, and citizens maintained peaceful daily lives.

The reason behind this was the stable operation of local governments that filled the gap left by the central government.

Japan is similar. Despite political instability with frequent cabinet dissolutions and prime minister changes, the yen/dollar exchange rate and the Nikkei index do not fluctuate significantly. Notably, as of December 2020, 99% of Japanese basic local government heads are independents, and about 70% of basic assembly members are independents.

This suggests that even today, when party-centered representative democracy is dominant, grassroots local autonomy allows residents to govern their own lives without direct central political involvement.

Through this event, we all see the power of Korea’s local autonomy, which has a 30-year history. We are also reminded once again that mature local governments are essential for Korea to advance as a developed country.

Citizens enjoying skating at the Seoul City Hall Plaza skating rink on the 26th

Central politics needs to focus on external and macroeconomic issues for the stability and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula and national economic growth amid fierce international competition. In contrast, local governments should focus on grassroots autonomy by protecting residents’ daily lives, maintaining community stability, and wiping the tears of the socially vulnerable, free from the influence of central politics.

Only when such a division of roles is properly established will Korea become a truly advanced country where genuine local autonomy is realized.

Just as crises mature us, we hope this event becomes an opportunity for true local autonomy to take root. Though sometimes faltering and crawling, our history has always progressed and moved forward. We sincerely hope the same will happen this time.