Local Councils Paralyzed for a Month... District Council Members Still Collect Full Allowances Worth Millions of Won

Prolonged Deadlock in Daejeon Local Councils
Council Operations Stalled, but Members Still Receive Allowances

While some local councils in Daejeon have been unable to function properly for nearly a month due to internal conflicts over the council's organization, controversy has arisen as council members continue to receive millions of won in council activity allowances and monthly stipends as usual.

On July 25, Yonhap News Agency reported, citing local political circles and the local councils, that the Daejeon Daedeok-gu Council has not yet finalized its organizational structure due to ongoing conflicts between the rival parties over the election of the council chairperson and standing committee heads.

The Daedeok-gu Council consists of four seats each held by the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party. As a result, if either side refuses to attend meetings, the required quorum of five cannot be met, making it impossible to proceed with council business. Although both parties have been in negotiations over the distribution of the council chair and committee chair positions, no agreement has been reached even as a month has passed since the new term began.

On the 15th, members of the People Power Party from the Dong-gu Council of Daejeon apologized to the residents regarding the disruption in the organization of the council at the Daejeon City Council. Photo by Yonhap News.

Although council operations have virtually ceased, it has been confirmed that the members' pay has been maintained as usual. As of July 20, each of the eight Daedeok-gu council members received 1,500,000 won in activity allowances and 3,069,360 won in monthly stipends, totaling 4,569,360 won (pre-tax) per person.

The situation is similar in the Daejeon Dong-gu Council. The Dong-gu Council, made up of six seats from the Democratic Party of Korea and four from the People Power Party, experienced intense conflicts, including physical altercations between opposing party members during the election of the council chair. Ultimately, the Democratic Party secured the chairperson role, but the People Power Party's Daejeon chapter criticized it as "self-appointment" and announced plans for legal action, with the conflict still unresolved.

Despite these issues, Dong-gu council members also received about 4,500,000 won (pre-tax) per person, including council activity allowances and monthly stipends.

Under current ordinances, delays in the council's organization or paralysis of council functions are not included as grounds for restricting the payment of council allowances. Payment can only be restricted or reduced if a council member is detained due to criminal charges or receives a disciplinary suspension from council sessions.

As such, conflicts arising from the process of organizing the council do not constitute grounds for limiting allowance payments, and as long as members retain their positions, allowances and monthly stipends must be paid according to the relevant regulations, as explained by the council.

Experts argue that institutional improvements are necessary. Kwon O-cheol, professor of public administration at Joongbu University, told Yonhap News Agency, "Within the bounds of upholding the intent of local autonomy, it is necessary to strengthen party-level oversight and consider institutional reforms to prevent similar situations from recurring."

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