July 18 Confirmation Hearing for the Nominee
Remarks on President Lee's Key Pledges
Yoon Ho-jung, the nominee for Minister of the Interior and Safety, announced his intention to strengthen disaster response through measures such as the "Basic Act on Life and Safety," a key pledge of the Lee Jae-myung administration. He also mentioned the "National Autonomy and Decentralization Council," another of President Lee's pledges aimed at strengthening local autonomy.
In his opening remarks at the National Assembly confirmation hearing on July 18, Yoon stated, "We will revise legal frameworks such as the Basic Act on Life and Safety to realize the public's right to safety, foster the disaster safety industry and workforce, and work to enhance scientific disaster response systems."
The Basic Act on Life and Safety is one of President Lee Jae-myung's ten major campaign pledges. The act is centered on explicitly stating individuals' rights to safety and clarifying the responsibilities of the state and local governments regarding safety. In March, about 70 National Assembly members, including Park Ju-min of the Democratic Party of Korea, jointly proposed the bill.
Yoon also said, "In particular, I will do my utmost to comfort and remember the victims and bereaved families of social disasters who have endured so much hardship over the years, and to ensure that innocent citizens are never needlessly sacrificed again."
He also expressed his commitment to local autonomy. Yoon stated, "We will reorganize systems such as the National Autonomy and Decentralization Council so that the central and local governments can become true partners in governance." The National Autonomy and Decentralization Council was also one of President Lee's campaign pledges, envisioned as a constitutional body to deliberate on local autonomy policies.
Yoon continued, "Marking the 30th anniversary of locally elected governments, we will once again pursue fiscal decentralization and strengthen the legislative and administrative powers of local governments to achieve genuine local autonomy and balanced regional development led by the regions themselves." The expansion of fiscal decentralization has been a longstanding demand of local governments suffering from low fiscal self-reliance and financial difficulties.
In addition, Yoon stated, "We will establish a capable and efficient AI-driven democratic government." He added, "We will begin large-scale public investment in AI at the government level, and, when necessary, ensure that public sector AI initiatives drive progress in the private sector as well, so that the nation's overall AI competitiveness can be enhanced."
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