Over 4,000 Local Councilors to Get Paid Starting Next Year

Starting by the end of next year’s local elections, 682 provincial assembly members and 3,496 municipal councilors will be receiving several tens of millions of won annually in official salary.

The plan, which will cost over 100 billion won in additional budget money every year, is expected to stir discord between the central government and local governments over who will shoulder this financial burden.

With the government and the ruling Uri Party recently deciding to accept salary payment to local assembly members, which has been demanded by the Grand National Party (GNP), it was identified on May 19 that the Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs (MOGAHA) submitted a “Review Report for Paying Salary to and Adjusting the Number of Local Councilors” to the Special Committee on Political Reform at the National Assembly.

The Special Committee on Political Reform agreed to confirm and pass into law the revised Local Autonomy Law, whose outline is paying salary to and modifying the number of local assemblymen, during the upcoming special session of the National Assembly in next month.

Young-Chan Yoon yyc11@donga.com