Gyeonggi Province and Korean Local Autonomy Association Hold Joint Academic Conference
Governor Kim Dong-yeon Emphasizes National Balanced Development and Local Decentralization in Special Lecture
Governor Kim: "Let's Discuss Constitutional Amendments to Redefine Local Governments and Regulate Autonomy, Administration, Organization, and Personnel"
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon expressed the need to relocate the Presidential Office, National Assembly, Supreme Court, and Supreme Prosecutors' Office to Sejong City and the Chungcheong region for national balanced development and local decentralization.
Governor Kim Dong-yeon is taking a commemorative photo with attendees at the special lecture of the '2025 Korean Local Autonomy Winter Academic Conference' held on the 21st at KINTEX in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Gyeonggi Province
On the 21st, Governor Kim stated this during a special lecture at the ‘2025 Korean Local Autonomy Association Winter Academic Conference’ held at KINTEX in Goyang, saying, “I advocate for a constitutional amendment that includes strong local decentralization and autonomy.”
On the same day, Governor Kim emphasized, “We strongly advocate for the relocation of the Presidential Office, National Assembly, Supreme Court, and Supreme Prosecutors' Office to Sejong and Chungcheong, which we were unable to accomplish last time (during President Roh Moo-hyun’s administration). Since the relocation of the Presidential Office and National Assembly to Sejong City is already being prepared, it seems this can be done soon. As for the Supreme Court and Supreme Prosecutors' Office, they should move to the Chungcheong area. Although this requires further discussion, I hope we strongly push forward with these plans.”
He continued, “The important thing is national balanced development and local decentralization. I believe there should be serious discussions about this issue in the current constitution. Let us take this opportunity to amend the constitution to clearly define matters related to autonomy, administration, finance, organization, and personnel, such as renaming local governments as local governments.”
He added, “Although the country is in turmoil and facing difficulties, I hope this moment can be turned into an opportunity to establish a clear policy within the constitutional amendment that concretely includes local decentralization and autonomy. Local autonomy is democracy.”
Governor Kim Dong-yeon stated on the 21st at a special lecture during the '2025 Korean Local Autonomy Association Winter Academic Conference' held at KINTEX in Goyang, "I strongly advocate for the relocation of the Presidential Office, National Assembly, Supreme Court, and Supreme Prosecutors' Office to Sejong and Chungcheong." Photo by Lee Jong-gu
Earlier, on the 12th, Governor Kim had emphasized three points on his social media (SNS) regarding the resolution of the December 3 emergency martial law incident, which exposed chronic issues in Korean politics: the need for a four-year renewable term and a decentralized constitutional amendment, a constitutional amendment to prevent martial law abuse, an economic constitutional amendment, and a constitutional amendment to restructure power.
The academic conference, co-hosted by Gyeonggi Province and the Korean Local Autonomy Association under the theme ‘30 Years of Elected Local Autonomy, New Spirit and Tasks for a New Era,’ was held over two days and involved numerous associations and scholars who reviewed the achievements and limitations of local autonomy and sought future development directions.
At the conference, Gyeonggi Province organized three special sessions: ▲ Gyeonggi RE100 Eco-friendly Economic Model and Green Growth ▲ Era of Special Autonomous Cities ? Vision and Strategy for the Northern Gyeonggi Regional Economy ▲ Major Issues in Local Administrative Systems and Gyeonggi Province’s Response Measures, discussing key current issues with academic experts.
In the discussion on ‘Gyeonggi RE100 Eco-friendly Economic Model and Green Growth,’ participants including the Seoul Institute and the Green Transition Research Institute recognized that responding to the climate crisis is an economic survival strategy and agreed on the need for active green transformation. They also shared the core content and achievements of Gyeonggi RE100 and emphasized that Gyeonggi RE100 will be an important key to opening a sustainable future for the Republic of Korea.
In the session on ‘Era of Special Autonomous Cities ? Vision and Strategy for the Northern Gyeonggi Regional Economy,’ strategies for developing the Northern Gyeonggi Special Autonomous Province using big data economy were discussed. The session on ‘Major Issues in Local Administrative Systems and Gyeonggi Province’s Response Measures’ discussed the necessity of metropolitan area super-regional administrative services and administrative system reforms for metropolitan area development.
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