GOVERNORS ASSOCIATION OF KOREA

Our Association brings together the mayors and governors of the Republic of Korea’s 16 metropolitan cities and provinces. Although our regions differ, we face many challenges that we must address together.

Local communities understand their own needs best. City and provincial governments are the first to notice when fewer families are having children, when more businesses are closing their doors, and when access to hospitals open at night becomes increasingly difficult. The people who clear the roads before dawn when it snows and those who are first to respond when a fire breaks out are also members of our local communities.

Yet much of the authority and funding needed to address these challenges remains concentrated in the central government. Problems emerge locally, but the solutions are often decided in Seoul.

That gap has now begun to narrow. Following a revision to the Regulations on the State Council, the Association’s President now sits in on State Council meetings as a matter of course. This means that a representative of local governments will have a seat at the table where national affairs are discussed. We will also actively represent local voices at the Central Local Cooperation Council, convened with the President of the Republic. We will engage frequently with the National Assembly as well, continuing to advocate for laws and institutions that will make local autonomy and decentralization a reality.

Our 16 regions may differ in geography, population, and circumstances, but we are united by our responsibility to the people we serve. The Association will connect these diverse voices, bring the realities of our communities to the national agenda, and help each region shape its own future and achieve sustainable growth.

We will be a strong and trusted bridge between the national and local governments, turning dialogue into cooperation and cooperation into meaningful change.

I sincerely appreciate your continued interest and support.

Thank you.