The first organizational restructuring plan for Gwangju City has been conditionally approved by the city council.
The final vote is scheduled for the last session of the regular meeting on the 18th.
On the 15th, the Planning and Finance Committee of the Gwangju City Council passed a revised restructuring plan, contingent upon the administration's promise to add a first-level director position at the Eastern and Muan offices and to secure 'one councilor, one policy advisor.'
Some council members publicly expressed their opposition regarding the distribution of functions among offices, the placement of deputy mayors, and the decentralization of key functions.
The restructuring plan aims to expand the current system from four divisions, seven headquarters, and 24 departments to four divisions, eight headquarters, and 27 departments, while establishing a semiconductor division directly under the mayor.
Additionally, it will reorganize the functions of the Gwangju, Muan, and Eastern offices based on a four-deputy mayor system.
During the first review on the 9th, the committee postponed the examination due to ongoing disputes over the distribution of functions among offices and the placement of nationally appointed deputy mayors, requesting the administration to provide additional information.
The administration's revised proposal includes transferring river-related tasks, such as ecological river creation and management of shared waters, from the Citizen Safety Office to the Balanced Development Office, and increasing the number of general staff positions from 206 to 208, while reducing positions at level five and below by two, maintaining a total staff count of 11,178.
The implementation date has also been postponed from October 1 to October 7.
After concluding inquiries on the same day, the committee went into recess and presented three additional requests to the administration.
First, to enhance the status of the Eastern office and strengthen accountable administration, they requested the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to establish a first-level director position under the Deputy Mayor of Industrial Economy.
They also requested a first-level director position overseeing agriculture, fisheries, and livestock at the Muan office, along with three departments: the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Department, the Livestock Department, and the Marine and Fisheries Department.
Furthermore, the administration was urged to prioritize securing 'one councilor, one policy advisor' as requested by the council.
Deputy Mayor Hwang Gi-yeon stated that he would accept these requests on behalf of the mayor.
Deputy Mayor Hwang said, "We are requesting an additional first-level position from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and if secured, we will establish a director position under the Deputy Mayor of Industrial Economy at the Eastern office and create a director position for agriculture and livestock at the Muan office, expanding to three departments below it. We will also actively work to implement the 'one councilor, one policy advisor' system as budget and personnel conditions allow to reflect the mayor's philosophy."
Im Hyeong-seok, chair of the Planning and Finance Committee, expressed trust in the deputy mayor's response and stated, "Since the deputy mayor has committed to fulfilling the three requests made by the committee on behalf of the integrated mayor, I will approve it conditionally."
The organizational restructuring plan is set for final approval at the last session of the regular meeting on the 18th.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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