South Korea establishes central‑local ‘One‑Team’ policy council for labor oversight and water safety

South Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety convened the 2026 sixth Central‑Local Policy Council, the first such meeting since the inauguration of the ninth local government term. Ministers from the Education, Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Employment and Labor ministries attended and pledged to operate a unified “one‑team” framework between central and regional authorities.

Key measures include transferring labor‑inspection authority for workplaces with fewer than 30 employees to local governments on 8 December, with a request for early allocation of personnel and budgets. The council also agreed to strengthen summer water‑safety protocols by deploying safety officers, expanding on‑site inspections, and promoting safety‑rule awareness to prevent swimming‑related accidents. Additional initiatives address integrated care, suicide prevention, disaster safety, and the development of regional tourism projects such as “tourism new‑village” and “mega‑tourism zones.”

Minister Yoon Ho‑joong emphasized that challenges like regional depopulation, livelihood‑economy issues, and disaster risk cannot be solved independently, urging central and local bodies to share philosophy and cooperate for “local autonomy for all.”