Council of Special City Mayors of Korea Appoints Hyunguk Kang as New Secretary-General

The Council of Special City Mayors of the Republic of Korea has appointed Hyunguk Kang, former Policy Advisor to the Minister of Public Safety and Security, as its new Secretary-General.

Council of Mayors of Special Cities in South Korea appoints Kang Hyun-guk as new Secretary General.
Photo by Changwon City

Secretary-General Kang, who officially took office on September 1, is an expert in policy and external cooperation, having served both in the National Assembly and at various central government ministries. Going forward, Secretary-General Kang will oversee all external affairs related to special cities, with a focus on clarifying the legal status of special cities, expanding practical administrative and fiscal authority as well as the right to establish autonomous organizational structures, and increasing the distribution ratios for general adjustment grants and provincial tax collection grants—thereby strengthening local finances and improving relevant institutions.

The Council intends to use this appointment as an opportunity to systematically organize its external relations and cooperation work, aiming to ensure that the five special cities achieve the status befitting their scale and that citizens can tangibly experience improvements through a stronger institutional foundation.

Kiyoon Kang, Chairman of the Council of Special City Mayors and Mayor of Changwon, stated, "In order to fully realize the potential of special cities in line with the local-led balanced growth policy, both authority and finances must be expanded. We will work closely with the newly appointed Secretary-General to secure the authority and financial resources appropriate to the scale of these cities and concentrate our efforts on enabling the five special cities to become a core pillar of balanced development in the Republic of Korea."

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