Lee Cheol-woo, the governor of Gyeongsangbuk-do, stated, “Welcoming Hong Jun-pyo’s proposal on the administrative integration of Daegu and Gyeongsangbuk-do.”

Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongsangbuk-do. [Provided by Gyeongsangbuk-do],
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, “[Herald Economy (Andong)=Kim Byung-jin Reporter] When the mayor of Daegu raised the ‘need for administrative integration of Daegu and Gyeongbuk,’ Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongsangbuk-do also expressed his support, saying ‘he welcomes it.'”,
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, ‘According to Gyeongsangbuk-do on the 19th, Governor Lee Cheol-woo explained in a post on his Facebook the day before that “Daegu and Gyeongbuk actively pursued administrative integration in 2019, decided to discuss it again after the general election in April 2020, but it fell below the surface due to local elections and others. It’s very fortunate that Mayor Hong Joon-pyo of Daegu recently advocated for integration.”‘,
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, ‘He went on to say, “First, there is a need to induce a large-scale administrative reform to allow for natural integration from the central government level to the grassroots level by providing incentives, as well as opening up the local era widely. I am confident that we can win the battle against low birth rates and regional extinction.”‘,
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, ‘Therefore, he stated, “Daegu City and Gyeongsangbuk-do have sufficient research results on the administrative integration discourse in 2019,” and presented a schedule that includes the establishment of an administrative integration TF with practitioners, civic groups, academics, and other experts, approval by the city and provincial councils, passage of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration bill in the National Assembly in the first half of next year, and the election of a unified Daegu-Gyeongbuk head in the local elections in 2026.’,
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, ‘Governor Lee said, “Since the establishment of the Republic of Korea, in the 1949 population census, out of the 20.16 million citizens, Seoul had 1.44 million and Gyeonggi had 1.8 million, while Gyeongsangbuk-do was ranked first with 3.21 million people. However, starting in the late 1960s when industrialization began, people began moving to Seoul from all over the country, and in the population census of 1970, the ranking switched with Seoul first and Gyeongsangbuk-do second.”‘,
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, ‘He continued, “Since then, the population in the capital region has been increasing, with more than half of the citizens gathering in 11.8% of the national territory, leading to serious overcrowding problems. The regions outside the capital are seeing over 100,000 young people moving to Seoul every year, which is a concern for national extinction.”‘,
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, ‘He also argued, “I have always pointed out ‘low birth rate, world No. 1, and capital region disease’ as the biggest problem in Korea, but with the single-pole system in the capital region, we cannot solve national problems such as low birth rates and regional extinction. It is urgent to reorganize the administrative system into a multi-polar system by integrating cities and provinces with over 5 million residents like Chungcheong, Honam, TK, PK to activate the regions.”‘,
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, ‘Meanwhile, Mayor Hong Joon-pyo of Daegu previously stated through his SNS, “If Daegu and Gyeongbuk merge to form a city with 5 million residents, Daegu will become the second city of the Korean Peninsula,” and “If the two levels of government are connected directly with the elimination of the province and the establishment of a 2-tier administrative system linking the metropolitan city and the nation, overlapping functions institutions will be streamlined, and the administrative system will be simplified for maximized efficiency.”‘,
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, ‘Mayor Hong said, “Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongsangbuk-do is also actively responding to this, so if the integration is successful, in the local elections two years later, only one unified Mayor of Daegu-Gyeongsangbuk will be elected,” and “The administrative system reform starting from Daegu and Gyeongbuk could be a signal for a nationwide administrative system reform.”‘,
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