Changwon City's splendid sports festival and the bare face of conflicting legislation: The challenges of transparent administration and responsible politics > News

Recently, Changwon City is taking active steps to improve the health of future generations by doubling the scale of the eco-friendly agricultural product support project for pregnant women compared to last year. This project, which will benefit a total of 2,860 pregnant women, goes beyond simply providing food and has great significance in securing a stable sales channel for eco-friendly agricultural products in the region and laying the foundation for coexistence between urban and rural areas. Application reception, which will begin on the 17th, will be centered on the online shopping mall ‘Ecoi Mall’, and consideration is also being given to increasing citizen accessibility, such as visiting the administrative welfare center for the digitally underprivileged. These administrative efforts are receiving positive reviews in that they provide a strong support to farms in the field and provide tangible benefits such as safe food to families giving birth, thereby creating a virtuous cycle of local economy and health and welfare.

On the other hand, Changwon City Council left an embarrassing report card by adjourning the last special session of the 4th council due to lack of quorum. This extraordinary meeting, convened under the leadership of the People Power Party, was scheduled to deal with the agenda of calling for an investigation into the truth about the ballot paper shortage that occurred during the last local election and prevention of recurrence, but the discussion could not even begin due to deep-rooted conflict between the ruling and opposition parties and the absence of lawmakers. All members of the Democratic Party of Korea chose to boycott on the grounds that there was no sufficient consultation in advance, and even the People Power Party, which proposed the agenda, failed to achieve internal unity and could not even maintain the minimal parliamentary function of majority attendance. This situation, contrary to the will of the Presidency to fulfill its original responsibility of checking and monitoring until the end of the term, in reality clearly showed how the wasteful power struggles between political parties paralyzed the normal functions of the National Assembly.

Conflicts within Congress are becoming more complex, extending beyond the single issue of the ballot issue to distrust of personnel. In particular, the Democratic Party is expressing strong suspicion that the current Speaker is trying to arbitrarily decide on promotions to level 4 civil servants ahead of the end of his term, even though this is a key issue directly related to the operation of the next Congress. This is due to a lack of trust in the overall operation of the National Assembly beyond simple procedural issues, and is based on concerns that the personnel of the National Assembly Secretariat staff may affect the policy direction of the next Assembly. Chairman Son Tae-hwa insists that he must continue his legislative activities until the end of his term in order to fulfill his duties and rights for citizens, but the lack of communication with the opposing camp and the ongoing boycott situation ultimately lead to undermining the value of representative democracy given by citizens.

Meanwhile, in the labor world, a meaningful decision has been made to recognize the right to use primary contracts for non-regular workers in the public sector, attracting attention. The Gyeongnam Regional Labor Relations Commission partially cited a request for correction filed by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' Public Solidarity Union and concluded that local governments cannot avoid responsibility if they exercise substantial influence over the budget and operating standards even if the local government does not directly employ them. This decision is expected to serve as a wake-up call to local governments that have been avoiding their responsibility for negotiation by hiding behind the Ministry of Employment and Labor's authoritative interpretation. Although not all occupations are recognized and the legal battle is expected to continue as local governments are considering applications for retrial, major changes are expected in the future to improve the employment structure in the public sector, given that the voices of the labor community demanding improved treatment of non-regular workers in the public sector have begun to gain legitimacy through judicial judgment.