SUWON — Ahn Kwang-ryul, floor leader of the Democratic Party in the Gyeonggi Provincial Council and a council member from Siheung District 1, has been elected head of the Democratic Party's National Association of Metropolitan Council Members.
The Democratic Party's Committee for Better Local Government confirmed Ahn's election on the 20th, as he was the only registered candidate. Ahn began his term immediately upon the confirmation.
The head of the association represents Democratic Party members serving on metropolitan and provincial councils across 16 cities and provinces. The position also carries a seat on the party's central committee, one of its main decision-making bodies.
"This is a position entrusted to me through trust rather than competition, and I feel the weight of that responsibility," Ahn said in remarks after his election. "I will take the lead in getting a Local Council Act enacted this year so that local councils can function properly as independent institutions."
"I will be a leader who listens first to the voices of council members from the 16 metropolitan cities and provinces, and carries them the furthest to the central party and the National Assembly," he said.
Ahn said his priorities include publishing a regular newsletter on the legislative activities of metropolitan councils. He also pledged to push for standards on council member pay and support for negotiating blocs in each region, and named the creation of a regular communication channel between the central party and metropolitan council members as another key task.
Now in his third term, Ahn chaired the Education and Planning Committee during the second half of the 11th Gyeonggi Provincial Council. He currently serves as the Democratic Party floor leader in the provincial council and as vice chair of the party's policy committee.