Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City to consolidate six public institutions
The Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City has finalized consolidation plans for six sectors of its public institutions and launched the legislative notice process.
Inaugural Spokesperson Bae Mi-kyung outlined the progress Monday at a briefing held at the fifth-floor briefing room of the Gwangju office.
The integrated special city oversees 41 public institutions in total — 21 formerly under South Jeolla Province, 18 formerly under Gwangju, and two jointly operated. Of these, 25 institutions with overlapping names and functions had been under review for possible consolidation.
Following the review, 22 institutions will be merged into 11, while three agencies in the climate, environment and energy sectors were determined to be better served by maintaining their independence and deepening their specialization rather than merging.
The 22 institutions had been working through 11 sector-specific task forces to discuss organizational structures, consolidation methods, ordinances and bylaws, labor-management issues, and ways to maintain public services. Six of those sectors have now completed negotiations, agreed on consolidation methods, and entered the legislative notice stage.
The names of the new institutions, the surviving legal entities, and the principal offices for the six finalized sectors have been determined.
The three climate, environment and energy institutions deemed to require specialization rather than consolidation will each focus on strengthening their own capabilities. The Gwangju Climate and Energy Promotion Agency will concentrate on carbon neutrality policy research and public education; the South Jeolla Environmental Industry Promotion Agency will focus on nurturing environmental businesses and conducting measurement and analysis; and the Green Energy Research Institute will dedicate itself to developing new and renewable energy technology and supporting related industries and companies.
The Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City aims to launch all 11 consolidated institutions simultaneously on Jan. 1 next year, and plans to accelerate the remaining negotiations and the drafting of ordinances and bylaws.
"If we focus only on speed, problems we failed to catch could surface later. If we focus only on direction, the consolidation could be delayed or public services disrupted," Bae said. "We are pursuing a consolidation that meets the deadline while preventing problems from emerging."
sij@heraldcorp.com
