The Incheon Metropolitan Council is moving to enact an ordinance that would restrict council pay for members who are detained or disciplined and unable to carry out their duties.
The push addresses a long-criticized institutional gap that allowed members to continue drawing public funds despite performing no council work — and puts Incheon among the last of the country's regional assemblies to adopt such a rule.
The bill, formally titled the "Ordinance on the Payment of Council Activity Expenses and Other Allowances for Members of the Incheon Metropolitan Council," was sponsored by Rep. Kim Myeong-ju of the Democratic Party of Korea, representing Seo-gu District 6. It has been posted for public comment and is set to be reviewed at the 312th extraordinary session scheduled for July 13.
Under the proposed ordinance, payment of council activity expenses and monthly allowances would be suspended from the day a member is taken into custody following indictment.
Members handed a suspension-from-attendance penalty would have their allowances reduced for the duration of the disciplinary period. Those disciplined for disrupting order in the chamber or occupying the speaker's or committee chair's seat could have their pay withheld for up to three months, and any amounts already paid could be clawed back.
However, the bill provides that withheld allowances would be paid retroactively if a member is acquitted or the disciplinary action is overturned.
A similar bill was introduced during the ninth council term last year but failed to clear the standing committee. With the 10th council now reviving the effort, attention is focused on whether it will pass this time.
The ordinance is drawing particular notice because Incheon is in effect the last of the country's 17 regional assemblies to establish such a framework.
Most other city and provincial councils have long operated rules suspending or reducing monthly allowances and activity expenses when a member is detained or suspended from attendance.
Incheon, however, has had no such provision, repeatedly drawing criticism as allowances continued to flow to members unable to perform their duties.
In practice, some Incheon council members received their monthly allowances even while in detention, drawing condemnation from civic groups and the broader community as a waste of taxpayer money.
The controversy has been compounded by the fact that some basic-level councils in the city — including the Namdong-gu council — already halt all council pay immediately upon a member's detention, raising questions of fairness.
The Justice Party's Incheon chapter issued a statement Wednesday welcoming the move. "It is late, but we welcome the Incheon Metropolitan Council's resolve to finally take responsibility for its duty of integrity," it said, adding that Incheon was the only regional assembly in the country that still paid council allowances even when a member was under detention.
The party went on to say the 10th Incheon Metropolitan Council must be different, calling on it to break with the entrenched practice of shielding its own members at the expense of accountability. "We demand that the ordinance restricting council pay for detained or disciplined members be passed without fail," it said.
Local civic groups have described the ordinance as the minimum safeguard needed to restore public trust in the city council.
With public sentiment running strongly against the use of taxpayer money to pay members who cannot perform their duties, all eyes are on whether the bill will clear the extraordinary session on July 13.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
