Park Wansu, Governor of Gyeongnam, Completes Term as Acting Chairman of Governors’ Council ... "Continue Identifying Agenda Items and Join in Follow-up Responses"

"I hope you will continue to identify policy issues to propose to the central government and join forces in follow-up responses."

Park Wansu, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, made this request as he completed his last official duty as the acting chairman of the Council of Governors of South Korea.

Gyeongnam Province Governor Park Wansu is leading the 61st General Assembly of the Korea Council of Governors.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Province]

On August 14, Park led the 61st Regular General Meeting of the Council as acting chairman, held at the conference hall of the Council of Governors in Seoul.

With the start of the 9th popularly elected term and the end of the previous chairman, Yoo Jeongbok, Mayor of Incheon, Park assumed the role of acting chairman as the eldest member in accordance with the Council’s bylaws.

Governor Park said, "It is truly a pleasure to meet the governors today. I would also like to congratulate those who, though belatedly, have been elected in the recent local elections. I hope today's meeting serves as an opportunity for the voices of the 9th term local governments to be conveyed well to the central government."

A total of 15 provincial governors from across the country attended the meeting, where they discussed common issues facing local governments as well as matters specific to each region.

The participants agreed on the need to pursue mutual benefits and improve the difficult fiscal situation of local governments through cooperation between local governments, rather than interregional competition.

Provincial Governors attending the 61st Regular General Assembly of the Korea Council of Governors pose for a commemorative photo. [Photo by Gyeongnam Province]

After hearing reports on the agenda items, Governor Park asked for continuous efforts to identify policy issues for the central government and for a unified follow-up response.

He also commented on the election of Park Chan-dae, Mayor of Incheon, as the 19th chairman of the Council on the same day, stating, "I will provide my full support so that the new chairman can successfully lead the 9th term Council. Please take the lead in ensuring that the voices of local governments are faithfully reflected in national government policy."

Since June 30, Governor Park has served as the vice chairman of the Council of Governors as well as the co-chairman of the working committee of the Central-Local Government Cooperation Council, consistently advocating for greater authority and fiscal autonomy for local governments.

In particular, prior to the 9th Central-Local Government Cooperation Council held last year, he personally led the working committee and placed "Measures to Strengthen Central-Local Fiscal Governance" on the agenda, urging the central government to make improvements.

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