Joint Resolution for the Successful Hosting of APEC Summit
Co-Chairs Lee Cheolwoo and Kim Joosoo
The 'Gyeongsangbuk-do Local Government Cooperation Council,' the highest policy consultative body jointly participated by the Governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do and the mayors and county heads of 22 cities and counties in the Gyeongsangbuk-do region, officially launched on the 17th.
This launch was realized as Gyeongsangbuk-do and the Council of Mayors and County Heads formed a shared recognition and consensus that policies such as local autonomy, decentralization, and balanced development should be promoted under the leading role and responsibility of local governments, marking the 30th anniversary of the direct election of local governments this year.
Currently operating consultative bodies related to local autonomy include the four major consultative bodies under the Local Autonomy Act, where heads of local governments or chairpersons of local councils participate (Council of Provincial Governors, Council of Chairpersons of Provincial Councils, Council of Mayors, County Heads and District Heads, and Council of Chairpersons of City, County, and Autonomous District Councils), as well as the Central-Local Cooperation Council, which is a consultative body between the central government and local governments.
Gyeongsangbuk-do plans to establish a new permanent consultative body for local autonomy and decentralization cooperation, separate from the existing consultative bodies, involving the governor and mayors and county heads, and to regularize its operation.
The newly launched Gyeongsangbuk-do Local Government Cooperation Council distinguishes itself from other consultative bodies.
First, it redefines the relationship between the metropolitan and basic local governments?Gyeongsangbuk-do and the 22 cities and counties?as equal and cooperative for the first time, radically innovating the previously vertical relationship between the province and the cities and counties. Through this, Gyeongsangbuk-do plans to present a model for a new framework of local autonomy and decentralization cooperation.
Second, the governor and the chairman of the Council of Mayors and County Heads serve as co-chairs, leading and managing the overall consultative body.
Major policies related to local governments, such as local autonomy and decentralization, balanced development, national projects, international events, responses to local extinction, overcoming low birth rates, and disaster safety, are discussed and cooperated on jointly by the province and cities and counties from the policy planning stage through implementation and follow-up measures, sharing outcomes.
Third, agenda items must be selected through a bottom-up process, and the number and proportion of agenda proposals are equally distributed between Gyeongsangbuk-do and the Council of Mayors and County Heads.
Agenda items are proposed mainly by Gyeongsangbuk-do with key provincial policies or current issues, and by the cities and counties with items discussed in the Council of Mayors and County Heads. After consultation and coordination through a working-level consultative body, the final agenda is submitted.
Even agenda items with differing opinions are submitted if necessary, and alternatives are sought through discussion and coordination, or they are managed continuously as long-term tasks.
Additionally, as members of the Local Government Cooperation Council, besides the governor and mayors and county heads, representatives from universities, economic, and research institutions participate, including Jeong Tae-ju, co-chair of the Gyeongsangbuk-do RISE Committee and president of Andong University; Yoon Jae-ho, chairman of the Gyeongbuk Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Yoo Cheol-gyun, president of the Gyeongbuk Research Institute.
The council meets once quarterly, and following agenda deliberations, an expert support group within the Gyeongbuk Research Institute will operate to reflect outcomes in provincial policies or concretize them through proposals for government policy adoption and legal and institutional reforms.
Gyeongsangbuk-do held the first Local Government Cooperation Council meeting on the 17th at the Cheongsong Confucian Culture Exhibition and Experience Center, attended by Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Chairman Kim Joo-soo of the Council of Mayors and County Heads, and mayors and county heads of 21 cities and counties.
At this meeting, Governor Lee Cheol-woo and the mayors and county heads signed a joint agreement for the formation and operation of the Local Government Cooperation Council and agreed to cooperate mutually.
In particular, a joint resolution was adopted for the successful hosting of the 2025 APEC Summit. The resolution includes a commitment by Gyeongsangbuk-do and the 22 cities and counties to make the APEC Summit?the largest event ever held in Gyeongsangbuk-do since the unification of the Three Kingdoms?a symbol of economy, culture, and peace, imprinting Gyeongsangbuk-do on the world stage and making it a historic turning point for South Korea to leap forward as a top-tier nation.
Additionally, as agenda items, Kim Sang-chul, head of the APEC Preparation Support Group, reported on the overview of the 2025 APEC Summit, preparation status by sector, current issues, and cooperation matters between the province and cities and counties. Kim Byung-gi, director of the Gyeongsangbuk-do Agricultural Transformation Division, reported on plans for early settlement and acceleration of the agricultural transformation. Afterwards, there was a session for collecting opinions from mayors and county heads and a free discussion.
Governor Lee Cheol-woo stated, “Over the 30 years of direct local elections, local governments have played a pivotal role in establishing grassroots democracy and contributing to national and regional development through local autonomy. However, local policies are still decided under the central government's leadership, and there is almost nothing that local governments can do independently.” He emphasized, “Since local governments now have sufficient capacity, the central government's authority must be boldly transferred to local governments, moving toward a decentralized state.”
He continued, “When I was a member of the 19th National Assembly (in 2012), I sponsored the 'Act on the Establishment of the Central-Local Cooperation Council,' which became the basis for the 2021 revision of the Local Autonomy Act and the enactment of the Central-Local Cooperation Council Act, leading to the current Central-Local Cooperation Council. The Local Government Cooperation Council, jointly established with the Council of Mayors and County Heads this time, will strive to become the highest deliberative and consensus-building body for local policies and a new model for local decentralization cooperation.”
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