Jinju City Attends 'Joint Forum for Balanced Growth and Development of Local Autonomy'

Repeated Emphasis on the Need to Improve the Special Provisions System for Metropolitan Cities

Jinju City attended the 'Joint Forum for Balanced Growth and Development of Local Autonomy' held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, once again emphasizing the need to improve the unrealistic standards of the current special provisions system for metropolitan cities.

The forum, held on December 22, was co-hosted by Jinju, Wonju, Asan, and Gumi. From the National Assembly, Park Dae-chul and Kang Min-guk from Jinju, Park Jeong-ha and Song Ki-heon from Wonju, Bok Gi-wang from Asan, and Koo Ja-geun and Kang Myung-gu from Gumi participated. The event was organized to seek ways to achieve balanced regional development through securing special provisions for metropolitan cities.

Jinju City Attends 'Local Autonomy Balanced Growth Development Joint Forum' Reiterates the Need for 'Special Improvement of Metropolitan City Status' Group Photo.

At the forum, participants discussed the issue of effectiveness with Article 58 of the current Special Act on Decentralization of Local Autonomy and Balanced Regional Development, which stipulates that a local government with a population of 300,000 or more and an area of 1,000 km² or more is regarded as a metropolitan city with a population of 500,000. The discussion highlighted that no local governments currently meet these criteria, raising questions about the system's effectiveness.

Kim Jongseok, a member of the Presidential Committee for the Era of Local Autonomy, delivered the keynote speech, presenting the 'Purpose of the Special Provisions System for the Era of Local Autonomy and Tasks for Institutional Improvement for Regional Balanced Development,' and emphasized the need for rational improvement of the metropolitan city special provisions system.

In the subsequent presentations, topics such as development strategies for metropolitan cities with populations of 500,000 and strategies and response measures for securing special provisions for metropolitan cities were discussed. Through expert panel discussions, a consensus was formed that easing the criteria for metropolitan city special provisions can enhance the administrative and financial autonomy of local governments and serve as an institutional foundation for promoting region-led balanced development.

Notably, at the forum, the mayors of Jinju, Wonju, Asan, and Gumi signed a joint declaration. Together, they called on the government and the National Assembly to: promptly pass the partial amendment to the Special Act on Decentralization of Local Autonomy and Balanced Regional Development to grant special metropolitan city provisions to local governments with a population of 300,000 or more and an area of at least 500 km²; establish an institutional foundation to support the autonomous growth of regional hub cities; and promote the transfer of substantive authority and support for future growth engines.

Mayor Jo Kyu-il stated, "For regional hub cities to fulfill their roles in line with current realities, an institutional foundation is needed to substantively support policy implementation conditions and authority," adding, "We will continue to work closely with Wonju, Asan, and Gumi to ensure rational improvements to the metropolitan city special provisions system."

Meanwhile, since signing a business agreement with Wonju, Asan, and Gumi in October 2022, Jinju City has continued joint efforts for 'improving special provisions for metropolitan cities' through working-level consultations and joint submission of opinions. Going forward, Jinju plans to strengthen cooperation with related cities and expand communication with the National Assembly and central government to ensure that institutional improvements lead to tangible results.