Transition committee presents overhaul recommendations at dissolution ceremony Tuesday

Proposes scrapping six-chief system, creating new control-tower body

Calls for emergency review of Incheon e-eum budget

The dissolution ceremony of the transition committee for Incheon Mayor-elect Park Chan-dae is held at the main auditorium of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority on Tuesday. [Park Chan-dae transition committee]
The dissolution ceremony of the transition committee for Incheon Mayor-elect Park Chan-dae is held at the main auditorium of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority on Tuesday. [Park Chan-dae transition committee]

The transition committee for Incheon Mayor-elect Park Chan-dae has put forward a set of organizational restructuring and fiscal reform recommendations based on its review of the city's overall administration under the current elected term.

At its dissolution ceremony held Tuesday at the main auditorium of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority, the committee recommended creating a new control-tower body to oversee key city priorities — including industrial policy and the Jemulpo development project — and proposed abolishing the six-chief system that has been in place during the current term.

The committee also called for consideration of dissolving units it found to have weakened functions or insufficient results, including the people's livelihood officer and the global city bureau.

As a measure to improve administrative operations, the committee proposed introducing a named-accountability system for directives, under which officials would be held personally responsible for major city policy issues, regulations affecting residents' daily lives and large-scale budget projects.

The committee also recommended drawing up long-term comprehensive plans for Incheon across sectors including industrial economy, energy, AI infrastructure and urban regeneration.

On the fiscal front, the committee called for an emergency review of the Incheon e-eum program, one of the flagship policies of the current elected term.

The committee assessed that if the current cashback rate of 20 percent and a deduction ceiling of 500,000 won ($324) are maintained, the 258.2 billion won allocated for the Incheon e-eum program this year could be fully exhausted by July.

It said a dedicated fiscal and budget reform task force should assess the program's financial burden and sustainability and chart a path forward.

However, the committee recommended continuing the remaining 13 tasks under the 100-day livelihood recovery project, excluding the Incheon e-eum program.

Transition committee chair Maeng Seong-gyu said he hoped the new city administration would become an open government that pursues policy together with residents — including by holding regular town hall meetings — so the city can bring about change alongside its citizens.


gilbert@heraldcorp.com