Oh Se-hoon: "Discussion on Mega Seoul Will Continue Regardless of the General Election"

Meeting with Baek Kyung-hyun, Mayor of Guri

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon expressed his intention to "continue discussions regardless of the general election" regarding the 'Mega City Seoul' initiative. However, he made it clear that this would be based on objective analysis and citizen consent.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and Guri Mayor Baek Kyung-hyun shake hands on the morning of the 13th at Seoul City Hall before discussing the issue of Guri City's incorporation into Seoul. Photo by Joint Press Corps [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 13th, Mayor Oh met with Baek Kyung-hyun, Mayor of Guri City, at the Seoul City Hall office to hear the official stance on the rationale for incorporating Guri City into Seoul.

Mayor Baek stated, “It is true that Guri City has faced many difficulties in fulfilling its role as a self-sufficient city due to overlapping regulations such as development restriction zones, water source protection zones, military protection areas, and the overcrowding control zones under the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act,” adding, “If Guri City is incorporated into Seoul, it is expected to bring benefits to Guri’s development.”

Mayor Oh emphasized to Baek Kyung-hyun that Seoul and Guri City should jointly form a research team to conduct a precise and objective analysis of the proposal, and transparently disclose the results to the citizens of both cities, making ‘citizen consent’ a prerequisite for the discussion. Similar to the case with Gimpo City, the city plans to establish the 'Guri City Seoul Incorporation Joint Research Team' to conduct an in-depth and detailed analysis of the effects, advantages, and disadvantages of incorporation with Guri City.

Meanwhile, the city announced that if the incorporation of adjacent local governments in Gyeonggi Province is decided, it will propose institutional improvements to the government to ensure ‘fiscal neutrality,’ so that there will be no financial disadvantages such as non-allocation of ordinary local allocation tax or differential application of national subsidy rates.

Mayor Oh emphasized, “The discussions that started with Gimpo and Guri Cities will continue after the election regardless of the general election,” and added, “We will continue to research and consider how the incorporation of neighboring municipalities into Seoul affects not only the quality of life of citizens but also Seoul’s urban competitiveness and the national competitiveness of the Republic of Korea, while proceeding with the discussions.”