Hapcheon County's First Resident-Initiated Ordinance Petition Enters Review of Basic Income Support Bill

County Council's Welfare and Administrative Committee Confirms Petition Meets Legal Requirements
3,094 Valid Signatures... Resident-Led Ordinance Process Moves Forward

The Hapcheon County Council in South Gyeongsang Province has accepted the "Ordinance on Supporting Basic Income in Hapcheon County," submitted as the region's first resident-initiated ordinance petition, and will begin the formal council review process.

The council announced on November 12 that it had voted to accept the petition to enact the "Ordinance on Supporting Basic Income in Hapcheon County" after review by the Welfare and Administrative Committee, the committee with jurisdiction over the matter, on November 11.

[Photo provided by Hapcheon County Council] Hapcheon County Council has accepted the county’s first resident-initiated ordinance, the “Ordinance on Supporting Basic Income in Hapcheon County,” and plans to review it at the 304th second regular session, which opens on the 25th.

The ordinance bill is significant because it is the first request to enact an ordinance submitted through the resident-initiated ordinance petition system in Hapcheon County.

The resident-initiated ordinance petition system allows residents who meet certain requirements to directly petition a local council to enact, amend, or repeal an ordinance.

The petition process began on October 8, when four representatives, including Kwon Youngsik, requested the enactment of an ordinance supporting basic income.

The petitioners began collecting residents' signatures on October 15 and, just nine days later, on October 23, submitted 4,520 signatures to the county council. This was 2,684 more than the 1,836 signatures required by law.

From October 23 to November 9, the county council verified the eligibility of the petition and the validity of the signatures on the submitted sheets.

The verification found that 1,426 of the 4,520 signatures were invalid, leaving 3,094 valid signatures. This was 1,258 more than the 1,836 signatures required by law.

Accordingly, the county council referred the agenda item on accepting the resident-initiated ordinance petition to the Welfare and Administrative Committee.

The Welfare and Administrative Committee held a meeting on November 11 and reviewed the procedures stipulated in the relevant laws, including whether the ordinance bill fell under the categories excluded from resident-initiated ordinance petitions, whether the valid-signature requirements had been met, and whether the deadline for submitting the signature sheets had been observed.

The committee concluded that the legal requirements and procedures for the petition had been met and voted to accept it.

Acceptance means that the residents' petition seeking enactment of the ordinance has met the legal requirements; it does not mean that the ordinance itself has been finally enacted.

The ordinance bill will next go through the local council's proposal and review procedures, where discussions are expected on the need for basic income support and how the system should be operated.

The county council plans to take follow-up steps so that it can review the ordinance bill at the 304th Second Regular Session of the Hapcheon County Council, which opens on November 25.

Shin Myeonggi, chair of the Hapcheon County Council, said, "I thank the residents who helped make it possible to accept Hapcheon County's first resident-initiated ordinance petition. We will promptly propose the ordinance bill and take the necessary steps so it can be reviewed at the 304th Second Regular Session, which begins on November 25."

Meanwhile, the specific eligibility criteria and payment standards for the proposed support, as well as how to secure funding, are among the key issues to be considered during the council's review.

As Hapcheon County's first resident-initiated ordinance petition moves into the council review stage, it will be important to honor the purpose of resident participation while also considering the need for basic income support and its financial sustainability.

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