Daegu Civic Groups File Police Complaint Against Kwak Donghwan, Dalseong County Council Chairman, Over Abolition of Standing Committees: "All Legal Procedures Were Followed"

The Daegu Citizen’s Coalition for Economic Justice (Daegu Gyeongsilryeon) and the Daegu Participation Solidarity filed a complaint with the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency on July 16 against Donghwan Kwak, 64, Chairman of the Daegu Dalseong County Council, on charges of abuse of authority and obstruction of the exercise of rights.

On July 7 and 8, Chairman Donghwan Kwak, along with three other council members from the People Power Party, jointly sponsored the "Partial Amendment Ordinance Bill on the Basic Ordinance of the Daegu Dalseong County Council," the "Partial Amendment Ordinance Bill on the Committee Ordinance of the Daegu Dalseong County Council," and the "Partial Amendment Bill on the Rules of Meetings of the Daegu Dalseong County Council." He then exercised his authority as chairman to present these bills to the plenary session and to have them approved.

Donghwan Kwak, Chairman of Daegu Dalseong County Council

Daegu Gyeongsilryeon and other groups stated, "This process, completed in just one day, was pushed through unilaterally by Chairman Kwak and People Power Party council members without gathering the opinions of the five Democratic Party council members, who were absent."

They further said, "Chairman Kwak violated various ordinances and rules of the Dalseong County Council and abused his authority as chairman to obstruct members and residents from exercising their rights."

The Daegu civic groups went on to say, "According to Article 7 of the Committee Ordinance as it existed prior to its repeal, the council was required to have three standing committees: the Steering Committee, the Administrative Welfare Committee, and the Economic and Construction Committee. However, Chairman Kwak abolished the standing committees by abusing his authority rather than fulfilling this requirement."

The civic groups also explained, "Even if standing committees are abolished in accordance with Article 64 of the Local Autonomy Act, the council must first establish standing committees as stipulated by the existing ordinance, then give at least five days’ public notice regarding the bill to abolish the standing committees, submit the bill at least ten days prior to the council session, and process it through standing committee deliberations before approval in the plenary session."

The Daegu civic groups emphasized that while some smaller local governments or councils with few members may not have standing committees for the sake of efficiency, Dalseong County is a large local government with more than 260,000 residents, 6 bureaus, 1 office, 33 divisions, 2 direct agencies under its main government complex, over 1,000 civil servants, and an annual budget of 1.3 trillion won. The Daegu-based civic groups further pointed out that the Dalseong County Council itself has 12 members, which is not a small number.

The Daegu civic groups stated, "Given that even the Jung-gu Council, which has only 7 members, has established standing committees, Chairman Donghwan Kwak’s decision to abolish the standing committees is highly problematic. If acts such as violating ordinances and rules without just cause, and abusing authority to obstruct the exercise of rights, become justified, it would set a dangerous precedent. This could lead to further arbitrary decisions by Chairman Kwak and others, the destruction of basic democratic principles by the majority, and rampant illegality, irregularity, and expedience in the Dalseong County Council due to unchecked one-sided rule."

In response, Chairman Kwak said, "I observed all procedures, including discussions with all council members regarding the abolition of standing committees. I am very surprised to learn that I am being prosecuted despite following the processes properly. Members of the Democratic Party were also present in the discussions held on several occasions."

Chairman Kwak added, "I believe standing committees are not suitable for Dalseong County, which is a mixed urban and rural area. Before 2024, the council had no standing committees, and they were established for the first time in the past two years. Previously, without standing committees, we discussed major issues in meetings attended by all council members."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.