Deputy Mayor Candidates Nominated Ahead of Ordinance Revision... Direct Confrontation Between Min Hyungbae and City Council

Mayor Min: "Nomination Is a Preparatory Step, Not an Appointment... Will Address Any Legal Flaws"

City Council: "Changing the Ordinance to Fit Preselected Individuals Is Making Law for the Person"

There has been a clash between Mayor Min Hyungbae and the City Council of Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City over the process of announcing and nominating candidates for Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs in fields of work not currently specified in the existing ordinance. Mayor Min argued that this was merely a preliminary step in anticipation of an upcoming organizational restructuring, while the City Council criticized the move as an attempt to revise the ordinance to fit predetermined candidates.

The Operations Committee of the Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City Council held a meeting on the afternoon of the 14th, during the second extraordinary session, to review the legality of the citizen recommendation system for Deputy Mayors for Political Affairs, the proposal for restructuring city organization, and the establishment of a national medical school. Mayor Min, along with Deputy Mayors Hwang Kiyeon and Ko Kwangwan, attended the session.

The main issue is that the areas in which candidates for Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs were recruited differ from the positions and assigned work stipulated by the current ordinance.

Min Hyung-bae, the Special Mayor of Jeonnam Gwangju Integration (right), is engaged in a heated debate with Shin Min-ho, the Chair of the City Council Steering Committee, on the 14th regarding whether the ordinance on the citizen recommendation system for the Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs has been violated. Captured from the YouTube channel of the Jeonnam Gwangju Integration Special City Council

From July 10 to July 15, Gwangju Special City recruited candidates for Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs through a citizen recommendation system, dividing work areas into 'industry, jobs, economy, labor, advanced core industries' and 'citizen sovereignty, youth & population policy, health & welfare, gender equality'. Subsequently, Baek Seungjoo, former director-general at the Ministry of Economy and Finance, and Yoon Nansil, former secretary for institutional reform at the Presidential Office, were each nominated as Deputy Mayor candidates for their respective fields.

However, according to the Special City Integration Act and the current ordinance, the Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs position is formally designated as either Deputy Mayor for Cultural Industries or Deputy Mayor for Economic and Agricultural Affairs. The Deputy Mayor for Cultural Industries is responsible for future industries, strategic industries, culture, tourism, and sports, while the Deputy Mayor for Economic and Agricultural Affairs oversees economy, livestock & agricultural products, maritime & fisheries, environment, and forestry.

Shin Minho, Chair of the Operations Committee, pointed out that the administration nominated candidates based on an ordinance revision that had not yet taken place. Shin stated, "You have treated the proposed future ordinance amendment as if it were already established law, bypassing the council's review and approval," and added, "By nominating candidates first, you have effectively relegated the council's legislative power to a mere formality." He continued, "Administrative actions should never precede laws and ordinances. If you change the ordinance after designating people, it would be making law fit the people. Should ordinances be revised just because of certain individuals?"

Mayor Min countered that the nomination of candidates should be distinguished from their actual appointment. He also explained that if they were to restart the process fully in accordance with the current ordinance, the Deputy Mayor appointment could be delayed by more than a month.

Mayor Min said, "Nomination is not an appointment," and emphasized, "The citizen recommendation and candidate nomination are preparatory steps to request a personnel hearing for the Deputy Mayors who will serve in the newly established organization." He added, "We initiated this citizen recommendation system after review by legal and administrative experts, and the process is currently limited to the nomination stage. The administration and the council have differing interpretations about whether this violates the ordinance, and the chair's opinion should not be treated as absolute truth."

The City Council demanded an apology from the administration and a restart of the procedure. Chair Shin said, "We have repeatedly requested, by official communication, to suspend the nomination as it does not match the existing ordinance, but these requests were ignored. Given the clear inconsistency, shouldn't an apology be offered?"

Mayor Min responded, "It is unfortunate that I did not provide sufficient explanation in advance," but also countered, "Surely, asking me to apologize was not the purpose of convening this committee meeting."

A tense exchange also continued after Mayor Min indicated that he needed to leave the meeting to attend the National Association of Governors, which was to be held in Seoul later that afternoon.

Chair Shin expressed regret, saying, "If we talk about the era of citizen sovereignty and communication with the council, leaving the room could disrupt the session." Mayor Min replied, "Is it not possible to continue the committee meeting without me? There are plenty of people present who can answer in my stead. Since this is the first meeting of the National Governors Association, I must attend. If there are any legal flaws, I will take corrective action." About 30 minutes after the meeting began, Mayor Min acquired consent to leave and departed for Seoul.

After Mayor Min left, questions were directed at Deputy Mayor for Administration Hwang Kiyeon regarding the legal grounds for the open call for Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs.

Assemblyman Kim Jinnam (Democratic Party of Korea, Suncheon 5) stated, "We are not questioning the candidates’ credentials. For the sake of the special city's citizens, this issue must be clarified." He asked if the administration acknowledged that the public recruitment areas do not match those defined in the current ordinance.

Deputy Mayor Hwang answered, "The organization structure at the time of the special city’s founding was based on a transitional ordinance. After the launch, we plan to revise the ordinance alongside organizational restructuring."

Assemblyman Kim further pressed, "Does the administration also consider public recruitment and candidate nomination based on standards different from the ordinance merely a preparatory action? Where do the limits of such preparation lie?" He added, "It is no different from recruiting for an internal medicine doctor, recommending someone outstanding in that field, and then deciding to hire them as a surgeon by amending the ordinance afterward."

Assemblywoman Park Jungseon (Proportional Representation) also commented, "Since citizen-recommended recruitment is an administrative act, it should comply with the principle of rule of law. If the recruitment field and content do not align with existing law, it clearly violates the rule of law."

The council’s Operations Committee requested that the administration disclose the legal grounds for implementing the citizen recommendation system, the decision-making process, explanations for recruiting candidates in areas different from those in the current ordinance, and plans for subsequent actions. It also called for submission of the legal review justifying that there was no legal issue, as well as the materials for candidate evaluations.

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