Visited the National Assembly to Request Support
"Standard Labor Cost Set by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety Should Also Be Increased"
Osan City in Gyeonggi Province has requested cooperation from the political circles to establish a new tax office.
On the 17th, Osan City announced that Mayor Lee Gwon-jae visited the National Assembly on the 13th to request cooperation from the political circles on major local issues such as the establishment of the Osan Tax Branch Office and the increase of the standard labor cost. During his visit to the National Assembly, Mayor Lee met with Song Eon-seok, Chairman of the Planning and Finance Committee, and Jeong Dong-man, a member of the Administrative Safety Committee, to make these proposals.
Lee Gwon-jae (right), Mayor of Osan City, visits the office of Jeong Dong-man, a member of the People Power Party, to request cooperation on city issues such as the establishment of a new tax office and the increase of standard labor costs. Photo by Osan City
Osan City has continuously requested the government to establish a new tax office. The reasons include the overburdened workload of the Donghwaseong Tax Office, which has jurisdiction over the city, the long-distance visits of citizens for tax-related civil complaints, and the excessive workload of the National Tax Civil Service Office within the city hall.
In particular, the average population per tax branch office in Gyeonggi Province is 210,000, the number of business operators is 40,000, and the national tax scale (based on local income tax revenue) is about 600 billion KRW. However, the combined population of Osan City and Jeongnam-myeon in Hwaseong City, which is adjacent to Osan, is 270,000, the number of business operators is 50,000, and the national tax is about 700 billion KRW, exceeding the average.
At the meeting, Mayor Lee requested, "Since the conditions for establishing a new tax office are met in terms of population, number of business operators, and national tax scale, I hope you will take an interest so that the tax office can be established promptly."
Mayor Lee also emphasized at the meeting the urgent need to increase the standard labor cost to solve the manpower shortage problem caused by continuous population growth and expanding administrative demand, and to ensure fairness with other local governments.
Since Osan was promoted to city status in 1989, its population has continuously increased. The population, which was 148,000 when the total labor cost system was introduced in 2007, increased by 77% to about 262,000 as of last year, and population inflow is expected due to the development of Segyo 2 and 3 districts and the creation of industrial complexes.
On the other hand, Osan City's current standard labor cost is 74.4 billion KRW, which is 21.1 billion KRW less than the average of 95.5 billion KRW for adjacent cities and counties of similar size. The standard manpower is also 748, which is significantly lower than the average of 1,019 for adjacent cities and counties of similar size.
Mayor Lee explained, "The administrative burden has increased to the point where there are 351 residents per public official, raising concerns about the decline in the quality of administrative services," and added, "The standard labor cost should be gradually increased to adjust it to about 92.1 billion KRW by 2027."
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