Suwon Begins Full Preparations for Special City Status with One Year Remaining...T/F Team Organized

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Seo Dong-young] With one year remaining until the launch of 'Suwon Special City,' Suwon City has organized a T/F team and begun full-scale preparations for special city status.

The city held its first 'Suwon Special City Launch T/F Meeting' on the morning of the 13th at City Hall, sharing the implementation roadmap for Suwon Special City. It also discussed key initiatives in each field including policy development, external cooperation, and public relations, as well as the discovery of special authority powers.

The Suwon Special City Launch T/F, led by Chon Chan-ho, Director of Planning and Coordination, consists of 15 officials from relevant departments who will work together to identify authorities to be granted to Suwon Special City and methods to realize them.

Suwon Special City will be realized exactly one year from now. The 'Comprehensive Amendment to the Local Autonomy Act,' which grants special city status to cities with a population of one million or more, was promulgated on the 12th, and according to the supplementary provision stating it 'shall take effect one year after promulgation,' January 13, 2022 has been set as the launch date.

In particular, comprehensive efforts are being pursued to secure special authority powers jointly by not only Suwon, but also Goyang, Yongin, and Changwon cities—four special cities in total.

The city plans to discover tasks for securing special city authority and focus on consultations with related agencies such as the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Committee for Self-Reliant Decentralization so these can be reflected in amendments to the Local Autonomy Act Enforcement Decree.

A joint T/F composed of 20 officials from the four special cities will operate, and through coordination with each special city's municipal research institutes, methods for amending the enforcement decree will also be explored. Additionally, an administrative council will be established with the mayors of the four special cities as members to strengthen negotiating power with the government.

A city official stated, "We will concentrate our city administration capabilities over this year for the successful launch of Suwon Special City," and added, "We will complete the special city together with our citizens."