Revision of Local Allocation Tax Enforcement Regulations
Petition Campaign and Rally Planned
"Sejong, the Administrative Capital, Reduced to a 'Disadvantaged City' Rather Than a Special City"
Officials from the Sejong Sarang Citizens' Coalition are holding a press conference. Photo by Yeonhap News Agency
Criticism has been raised regarding the unfairness of the ordinary local allocation tax that the government is supposed to provide to Sejong City.
The Sejong Sarang Citizens' Coalition, led by Executive Representative Kim Moonhoe, held a press conference in the Sejong City briefing room on November 5, strongly urging for the normalization of the local allocation tax and the revision of the enforcement regulations.
During the press conference, the Coalition expressed concern, stating, "Although Sejong City carries out both metropolitan and basic administrative functions, the current method for calculating the local allocation tax does not reflect this unique situation at all."
They pointed out that Sejong City's per capita welfare budget is less than half that of other metropolitan cities, arguing that this is not simply an administrative error but rather represents the collapse of the philosophy of balanced national development and a violation of the constitutional principle of local autonomy.
The Coalition insisted, "Since Sejong City performs all basic administrative duties as required by law and bears the necessary costs independently, the enforcement regulations for the local allocation tax must be revised so that the allocation for basic administrative duties is realistically reflected."
They also called for the long-term application of the 'fixed-rate ordinary allocation tax system' applied to Jeju Special Self-Governing Province.
In the case of Jeju, the province receives a fixed percentage of the total allocation tax from the government in recognition of its special self-governing status. However, despite Sejong City also being a special self-governing city, there is no such institutional adjustment, and the city suffers financial disadvantages while performing both metropolitan and basic administrative duties.
The Coalition also announced the launch of a citywide petition campaign for the normalization of the local allocation tax.
A Coalition official emphasized, "The unfairness of the local allocation tax shakes the very foundation of local autonomy in South Korea. Sejong citizens will no longer remain silent, and we will fight not only for the interests of Sejong but also for justice and balanced development in local autonomy across the country."
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