Earlier this month, President Lee Jae-myung mentioned the integration of Daejeon and Chungnam. Today (18th), during a luncheon with local members of the National Assembly from this region, he proposed a specific plan to “integrate before the local elections.” Democratic Party members are planning to pass a special integration law in the National Assembly around February next year. The discussion is expected to gain momentum as the opposition also welcomes the proposal.
Reported by Min Kyung-ho.
President Lee Jae-myung expressed his intention to pursue the integration of Daejeon and Chungnam before the local elections in June next year during a luncheon with 14 Democratic Party members from the Daejeon and Chungnam regions.
The presidential office stated that “President Lee believes that the integration of Daejeon and Chungnam could act as a catalyst to resolve overcrowding in the capital area and promote balanced growth.” Lee further mentioned that “the integrated local government head should be elected during the local elections.”
[President Lee Jae-myung (Chungnam Town Hall Meeting, December 5): I think it’s good to have resources and capabilities utilized integrally. How about using Chungnam and Daejeon as a model for integration…?]
One attending lawmaker commented, “It seems that President Lee, who was contemplating decentralization, assessed that Daejeon and Chungnam could lead the integration.”
The lawmakers responded by agreeing to establish a special committee within the Democratic Party to pass the Daejeon and Chungnam integration special law in the National Assembly around February next year.
There were also discussions about whether to name the special city “Chungnam-Daejeon” or “Daejeon-Chungnam” and whether to maintain the existing provincial and city offices.
As for “Chungnam-Daejeon,” the argument is based on the fact that Daejeon was separated from Chungnam in 1989.
The People Power Party has been relatively more proactive regarding the integration issue. In November last year, Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo and Chungnam Governor Kim Tae-heum, both from the People Power Party, jointly declared their pursuit of integration, and People Power Party lawmaker Sung Il-jong proposed the related special law.
Today, both heads expressed their welcome.
If the integration is realized, the population will become the third largest, following Gyeonggi with 13.7 million and Seoul with 9.3 million, totaling about 3.6 million people.
If the integration leads to the realization of the regional integrated leader election in June next year, the ruling and opposition candidates from Daejeon and Chungnam, who have been mentioned as five or six candidates per region, will face intense intra-party competition.
(Video coverage by Jeon Kyung-bae, video editing by Kim Ho-jin)