Council Right
The right to vote
This right is to decide local government or council’s activities. It can establish and reorganize the regulations, and reviewing, confirming, and approving draft budget and settlement of accounts. It means that council deliberates and votes important policies by law and regulations. The range of voting right in Korea adopts limiting enumeration system. So, council can not vote for matters which are not regulated by law or regulations. Voting matters can be divided into 3 parts. First, 10 voting matters by local government law Article 35, Clause 1. Second, matters which must be voted by local council with local government law or other laws. Third, matters must be voted by council voting with the competent local government ordinance.
The right to monitor administrative affairs
As the representative of the inhabitants, it has right to monitor and control the state of administrative execution, and it is embodied through the right of inspection and investigation. And also, it performs the function to monitor administrative affairs through the attendance answer, data, and a requested report from the local government head and public officers.
The right to be autonomous
It is free from intervention of other organizations like the government or the executives when it comes to organizing and administering the local council. It has the right to regulate itself, thus performs enactment of rules of the meeting, deciding opening and closing of the meeting and the term of the session, maintenance of the order, disciplining and evaluating qualification of the council representatives, nonconfidence of the chairman and the vice chairman, and management of internal organization.
The right to elect
The local council should decide by election. This right to elect is divided into two parts. First, the right to elect for council internal organization members. Second, other right to elect which is given by other law and local government ordinances. For example, budget and accounts committee member can be elected by local council. And when the local government head appoints members for each committee, if the head requests the council to recommend some members by law or ordinance, the council can recommend.
The right to process petition
In case that local inhabitant’s right or benefit is affected, a local inhabitant can be introduced by more than the council representative and submit a petition. Then council has right to accept and administer the petition.
The right to express opinion
For the public good of a local autonomous entity, it has right to suggest and express opinions to the external organizations including the executives, the central government, other local autonomous entities, and other public and private organizations. this right to express opinion is a kind of supporting right for the local council’s right to vote and monitor.
The right to request documents and information
In order to monitor the administrative works of the executive organization and manage the evaluation of agenda smoothly, it has right to monitor, investigate, and request documents that are related to the evaluation of agenda directly to a government head. This request must be done 3 days before document submitting day.
The right to request attendance, and question
In order to request about the execution of administrative affairs or the evaluation of agenda, a plenary session of the local council or the committee can request an attendance of a government head or a related public officers and there is the written question system to receive answers about the administration of the local autonomous entity during a recess or closing of a session.