Parties agree on new body for county, city mergers
Published: 23 Nov. 2009, 22:32
Ruling and opposition party lawmakers agreed to launch a presidential committee on the revision of local administrative systems and set a deadline for hammering out final plans for the mergers of 230 administrative cities and counties across the country by next year.
Under the plan, a presidential committee on the revision of local administrative systems will be launched early next year after lawmakers pass a law concerning administrative district reform, according to lawmakers with the National Assembly’s special committee on the revision of local administrative systems.
The presidential committee will lead the administrative merger. It plans to merge 230 cities and counties across the country into 50 to 60 areas by 2014, before local elections take place in June 2014, the committee said.
The presidential committee will comprise top government officials, including Public Administration Minister Lee Dal-gon and Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun. Some 20 experts recommended by local municipal government communities will also join the committee.
“Ruling and opposition lawmakers have agreed to advise local municipal governments to join merger moves after the presidential committee finalizes the plans within a year,” Huh Tae-yeol, the chairman of the special committee on the revision of local administrative systems, said. “We will come up with a law related to administrative district reform by December.”
Once the committee finishes taking opinions at public hearings across the country between Nov. 25 and 27, committee members will craft a comprehensive law for administrative merger reform that will integrate eight pending bills concerning the merger plan, Huh explained.
“Floor leaders of both ruling and opposition parties originally agreed to craft the law by February next year but our goal is to finish it by December [this year],” Huh said.
The committee on Sunday agreed to give preference to administrative districts that have merged when the central government later designates special development zones.
By Jung Hyo-sik, Kwon Ho [[email protected]]
Under the plan, a presidential committee on the revision of local administrative systems will be launched early next year after lawmakers pass a law concerning administrative district reform, according to lawmakers with the National Assembly’s special committee on the revision of local administrative systems.
The presidential committee will lead the administrative merger. It plans to merge 230 cities and counties across the country into 50 to 60 areas by 2014, before local elections take place in June 2014, the committee said.
The presidential committee will comprise top government officials, including Public Administration Minister Lee Dal-gon and Finance Minister Yoon Jeung-hyun. Some 20 experts recommended by local municipal government communities will also join the committee.
“Ruling and opposition lawmakers have agreed to advise local municipal governments to join merger moves after the presidential committee finalizes the plans within a year,” Huh Tae-yeol, the chairman of the special committee on the revision of local administrative systems, said. “We will come up with a law related to administrative district reform by December.”
Once the committee finishes taking opinions at public hearings across the country between Nov. 25 and 27, committee members will craft a comprehensive law for administrative merger reform that will integrate eight pending bills concerning the merger plan, Huh explained.
“Floor leaders of both ruling and opposition parties originally agreed to craft the law by February next year but our goal is to finish it by December [this year],” Huh said.
The committee on Sunday agreed to give preference to administrative districts that have merged when the central government later designates special development zones.
By Jung Hyo-sik, Kwon Ho [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
To write comments, please log in to one of the accounts.
Standards Board Policy (0/250자)