Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Council officially launched as Korea’s first integrated metropolitan council

Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Council held its first plenary session at midnight on the 1st and began official legislative activities as the first integrated metropolitan council in Korea.

On this day, the Unified City Council officially opened the first plenary session of the 1st extraordinary session at 05:00 after announcing the meeting and registering the chairman and vice-chairman at 0:00 at the existing Jeonnam Provincial Council plenary meeting hall in Samhyang-eup, Muan-gun.

With the official opening of the Unified City Council, the process of forming the first half of the council began, including electing the first chairperson and processing the necessary self-governing laws and regulations for inauguration.

The first extraordinary plenary session of the integrated city council was held at midnight, the time of launch, to prevent the vacuum in council functions and immediately lay the legal foundation for integrated administration as the Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City, the Unified Office of Education, and the Unified Council were simultaneously launched.

The plenary session was chaired by interim chairman Kim Seong-il and was conducted in the following order: a report on the circumstances of the meeting and the election of the first chairman.

Four-term lawmaker Song Hyeong-gon (Democratic Party of Korea, Goheung 1) was elected as the first chairman.

In his speech for the election, Rep. Song said, "The government has presented a national vision to develop Gwangju, Jeollanam-do into a core base for Korea's artificial intelligence and semiconductor industries," and added, "The Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Council will actively support bipartisan cooperation and all of the capabilities of the National Assembly so that the national strategy can be successfully implemented."

Chairman Song immediately submitted the ‘Global Semiconductor Strategic Investment Support Ordinance’ as the first agenda item to the Unified City Council.

The semiconductor support ordinance was passed with the approval of all 91 lawmakers.

Afterwards, autonomous laws essential for the launch, including 233 special city ordinances, 63 education ordinances, and 34 council ordinances, were sequentially reviewed and resolved.

The 'Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special City Council Ordinance on the Composition and Operation of Negotiating Groups and Committees', which Progressive Party members opposed regarding the requirements for forming a negotiating group, was also passed.

Representative Yoon Min-ho (Progressive Party, Buk-gu 2), who participated in the debate, volunteered for the debate and said, “The reason for introducing a bargaining group through the revision of the Local Autonomy Act in 2023 is to ensure efficiency in the operation of the National Assembly and the participation of various political forces,” and argued, “The requirements for forming a negotiating group must be relaxed to ensure broader political representation and participation.”

The ordinance passed by the National Assembly is immediately transferred to the executive branch for promulgation.

Following the enactment of the ordinance, Min Hyeong-bae, the first Jeonnam Gwangju Unified Special Mayor, and Kim Dae-jung, the first Jeonnam Gwangju Superintendent of Education, took the oath of office and delivered inauguration speeches, respectively.

On this day, the plenary session adjourned at 2:45 a.m. and resumed at 8:30 a.m. to elect 12 vice-chairmen and standing committee chairs.

Representatives Cho Seok-ho (Gwangju region) and Kim Moon-soo (Jeonnam region) were elected as vice-chairmen and were distributed to the Gwangju and Jeonnam regions.

City council members including Planning and Finance Committee Chairman Lim Hyeong-seok, Administrative and Fire Protection Committee Chairman Park Seong-jae, Future Industry Committee Chairman Lee Gwi-soon, Agriculture and Fisheries Committee Chairman Ryu Ki-jun, Climate, Environment and Energy Committee Chairman Park Won-jong, Job and Economy Committee Chairman Jin Ho-geon, Safety and Construction Committee Chairman Kang Jeong-il, Road and Transportation Committee Chairman Kang Su-hoon, Culture, Tourism and Sports Committee Chairman Hong Ki-wol, Health and Welfare Committee Chairman Ahn Pyeong-hwan, and Education Committee Chairman Choi Jeong-hoon were elected as standing committee chairs.

On the first day of the launch of the Unified City Council, city council members will have lunch after the plenary session, visit the National May 18th Democracy Cemetery and pay joint respects, and continue their official schedule on the first day of the Unified Council.

The Unified City Council plans to hold a second plenary meeting at 10 a.m. on the 3rd to elect standing committee members, and then finalize the formation of special committees such as the Budget and Settlement Special Committee and the Ethics Special Committee.