Kim Byeong-nae, Mayor of Nam-gu, Gwangju, Elected Representative Chair of the National Association of Mayors, County Governors and District Heads of Korea

[Financial News]  
Kim Byeong-nae, mayor of Nam-gu, Gwangju, has been elected representative chair of the National Association of Mayors, County Governors and District Heads of Korea for the first half of the ninth popularly elected term. Over the next two years, he will represent 229 lower-level local governments and convey issues such as expanding local autonomy and fiscal authority to the central government and the National Assembly.
The National Association of Mayors, County Governors and District Heads of Korea said on the 29th that it held the first joint chairpersons' meeting of the first year of the ninth popularly elected term at the Korea Press Center and chose Kim by consensus as its representative chair.
Kim Byeong-nae previously served as head of the Direct Civil Petition Office of Gwangju Metropolitan City and as an administrative officer in the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Office at Cheong Wa Dae. He has served as mayor of Nam-gu, Gwangju, since 2018.
Kim Byeong-nae said, "To ensure that all residents can experience the results of regional development and balanced growth led by lower-level local governments, I will continue to expand and strengthen the autonomy and fiscal authority of cities, counties and districts. I will also actively pursue closer solidarity and cooperation among the 229 lower-level governments."
Kim Byeong-nae will attend the State Council of South Korea and serve as an ex officio member of government committees, including the Presidential Committee of National Cohesion and the Committee for Basic Society, both directly under the president. In that role, he will convey the views of cities, counties and districts to the national administration.
The association also completed its executive lineup for the first half of the ninth popularly elected term. Choi Dae-ho, mayor of Anyang, and Kim Young-gil, Mayor of Jung District, Ulsan, were appointed standing vice chairs. Choi Seung-jun, governor of Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province, and Jang Jun-yong, mayor of Dongnae-gu, Busan, were named auditors, while Jeong Yong-rae, mayor of Yuseong-gu, Daejeon, was appointed spokesperson.
The meeting also addressed local fiscal issues arising from the government's creation of the Future Response Fund. The association raised concerns that the fund could reduce the total amount of local allocation tax and relatively weaken the fiscal functions of local governments.
Accordingly, the association decided to promptly prepare a petition reflecting the position of lower-level local governments on the Future Response Fund and formally submit it to the central government, including the Ministry of Planning and Budget, and the National Assembly.

[email protected] Lee Bo-mi Reporter