Park Chan-dae elected head of Governors Association of Korea

Incheon Mayor Park Chan-dae speaks at the 61st general meeting of the Governors Association of Korea, held at the association’s office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Aug. 14. Ypnhap

Park Chan-dae, mayor of Incheon and a close political ally of President Lee Jae Myung, has been elected to lead the Governors Association of Korea.

With Park now at the helm of the association, expectations are rising that the administration and association will work closely together to produce tangible results in promoting local autonomy and decentralization. At the same time, concerns have emerged that the association’s standing could weaken if it becomes difficult for it to take positions at odds with the central government. Park and Lee previously worked closely together when Lee was party leader and Park was floor leader.

The association held its 61st general meeting in central Seoul, Friday, and unanimously elected Park as its 19th president. His term is set to last one year.

An association official said several governors had expressed their intention to run, but the process was concluded quickly.

“It was wrapped up smoothly with a unanimous decision,” the official said.

As head of the association, Park will attend Cabinet meetings starting from Tuesday. He will also serve alongside Prime Minister Han Seong-sook as co-vice chairperson of the Central Local Government Cooperation Council at a meeting scheduled for later this month.

The general meeting was held following the June 3 local elections for newly elected local government heads to meet, elect a new association chief and discuss the association’s key issues and operations. The meeting had originally been scheduled for July 28, but was postponed because a quorum was not met.

Virtually all of the governors and mayors attended Friday’s meeting. Fifteen of the 16 heads of metropolitan local governments were present. North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo, who is undergoing medical treatment, was the only absentee.

“You rarely see this many people attend a meeting like this,” said Yoo Min-bong, secretary-general of the association.

Given his reputation as one of Lee’s closest political allies, Park's election has prompted both high expectations and concerns among local governments.

“We expect him to deliver results because he is someone who can communicate directly with the president,” an official from a local government in the Chungcheong region said.

A local government official from the southeastern Yeongnam region, however, expressed concern that “there is talk that the Governors Association could become a second presidential office.”

“We were close when I served as floor leader and President Lee was party leader, but didn’t we achieve many things together?” Park said. “We will do our utmost to work with the Lee Jae Myung administration on expanding local government finances, achieving balanced regional development and addressing issues affecting people’s livelihoods — areas in which local governments have important roles to play.”

This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, is translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.