Delivering a Message for the 77th Constitution Day: "Era of Popular Sovereignty"
Emphasizing the Need to Expand Legislative Autonomy and Constitutional Amendments for Decentralization
On July 17, marking the 77th Constitution Day, Kim Youngrok, Governor of Jeonnam Province, stressed the necessity of decentralization to realize an era of popular sovereignty in which the people are the true owners of the nation.
Governor Kim stated, "The Lee Jaemyung administration, born out of the Revolution of Light, has declared itself a 'government of popular sovereignty.' This demonstrates its commitment to upholding the spirit of the Constitution and reflecting the true will of the sovereign people in national governance. One of the core elements for realizing the ideals of a government of popular sovereignty is decentralization," he said.
He also emphasized the need for practical and gradual improvements for decentralization, such as expanding fiscal autonomy and legislative powers, including fiscal decentralization, and, in the long term, constitutional amendments to establish a decentralized system.
Governor Kim said, "It is necessary to permanently preserve the financial resources for local administrative transfers that are guaranteed until 2026. The local allocation tax rate, which has been frozen since 2006, should be gradually increased from the current 19.24% of national taxes to 24.24%. In the long term, the ratio of national to local taxes should be improved to at least 70 to 30, and ultimately, to 50 to 50," he said.
He continued, "It is also necessary to expand legislative autonomy. Currently, the authority to enact local ordinances is limited to the scope delegated by law, but this should be expanded to allow local governments to enact ordinances autonomously as long as they do not violate statutes."
He further stated, "In the long term, to bring about fundamental change, we must consider amending the Constitution to explicitly define the nation as a decentralized state and establish a regionally representative upper house, as seen in Germany and France. The spirit of the 5·18 Democratization Movement should be enshrined in the preamble of the Constitution to firmly establish the foundation of a democratic republic in which the people are the true owners."
Governor Kim pledged, "As people's livelihoods are currently very difficult, Jeonnam Province is working in complete unity with the Lee Jaemyung administration to focus all efforts on restoring people's livelihoods. In the long term, we will steadily prepare for decentralization so that the people can truly become the owners and participate in policymaking."
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