The South Jeolla-Gwangju Special Metropolitan City Assembly has signaled its intent to process a reorganization ordinance in mid-September, raising expectations that the city's first personnel reshuffle will take place around the chuseok holiday. As the merged city marks its third month since launch, attention is also turning to how civil servant unions in Gwangju, Muan and other areas will respond to any promotions and transfers.
The appointment of two political deputy mayor candidates — nominated through a citizen-recommendation process — has been pushed back to October due to delays in confirmation hearing procedures. With the two deputy mayor posts set to assist Mayor Min Hyeong-bae sitting vacant for nearly four months, the citizen-recommendation system has drawn fire for its apparent shortcomings.
The assembly plans to review the reorganization ordinance bill during its first regular session, which opens Sept. 8, before holding a plenary session on Sept. 14 to vote on the bill.
If the ordinance passes the Sept. 14 plenary session and is transmitted to the executive branch, promulgation could follow around Sept. 15-16. Should the executive branch simultaneously prepare personnel assignments aligned with the reorganization, the reshuffle could take place before chuseok.
Assembly members from various standing committees, as well as those representing the eastern and western regions of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, have been calling for revisions and improvements to the reorganization plan, particularly regarding the placement and functional alignment of offices, headquarters and bureaus.
Assembly Speaker Song Hyeong-gon plans to gather the feedback through the steering committee and other channels before coordinating with the executive branch.
How far the executive branch incorporates the assembly's demands into the reorganization plan is expected to determine whether the bill clears the Sept. 14 plenary session.
The appointment of the political deputy mayors is expected to take longer than the reorganization itself.
If the assembly begins confirmation hearings in late September and completes procedures — including adoption of a progress report — by early October, the political deputy mayor appointments could come no sooner than early October.
sij@heraldcorp.com
