O Tae-wan, Uiryeong County Governor, Joins Gyeongnam Province's 'Opposition to Special Union'

‘Special Alliance Where Only Some Survive When United,’ Ignoring the Capabilities of County-Level Autonomous Entities Like Uiryeong

O Tae-wan, Governor of Uiryeong County, Gyeongnam.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Wook] Regarding Gyeongnam Province's official opposition to the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong) Special Union, citing its lack of practical benefits, Oh Tae-wan, the mayor of Uiryeong County, has drawn attention by expressing his principled stance supporting the opposition to the Special Union, which accelerates the extinction crisis in rural areas.

Mayor Oh stated, “The Bu-Ul-Gyeong Special Union has no real substance and offers no practical benefits to the residents. Moreover, it only provokes conflicts between regions and ultimately causes severe regional imbalance,” expressing his agreement with Gyeongnam Province’s declaration opposing the Bu-Ul-Gyeong Special Union.

He added, “Setting aside the institutional limitations of the Special Union, it is obvious that it will accelerate the extinction of rural county areas.”

He sharply criticized, “The current Bu-Ul-Gyeong Special Union is a megacity project pushed forward unilaterally during the previous administration, ignoring not only the opinions of mayors and county heads but also the residents’ opinions,” and said, “It is essentially a league for only a few to thrive by uniting.”

He further criticized, “The plan to concentrate investments in metropolitan cities and some large cities to revitalize the region disregards the capabilities of county-level local governments like Uiryeong.”

Mayor Oh expressed hope, saying, “I expect the Park Wan-su administration, which actively communicates with mayors and county heads, to wisely seek solutions through a ‘well-structured administrative integration’ that addresses the crisis of population decline and regional extinction.”

He also stated, “The Bu-Ul-Gyeong administrative integration should be pursued with the opinions of residents and include a vision and development strategy for the entire Bu-Ul-Gyeong area, including rural local governments.”