[The Editors' Verdict] Who Is the 'Mega City' Really For?

'Election Season Menu'
Half of the People Respond "For Vote-Seeking"

The entire country is abuzz with the 'Mega City' issue. It originally started with the incorporation of Gimpo City into Seoul Special City, but the scope of incorporation has expanded to neighboring cities such as Hanam, Gwangmyeong, and Guri, and now voices from all over the country, including the Chungcheong region, are growing louder to create mega cities.

Just about two weeks ago, on the 30th of last month, the ruling party People Power Party leadership first hinted at the possibility of adopting a party stance on incorporating Gimpo City into Seoul, and now it seems to have become a key topic in the political landscape. On the 16th, just a day before, a special law titled 'Special Act on the Change of Jurisdictional Boundaries between Gyeonggi Province and Seoul Special City' was proposed to incorporate Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province into Seoul by 2025. On the same day, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon, and Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok also gathered for a private tripartite meeting. However, it is known that this meeting only confirmed the differences in positions among the three local government heads.

The term mega city, in its dictionary definition, refers to a super-large city with a population of over 10 million. Globally, as urban population concentration intensifies, new mega cities are emerging around the world. Currently, there are about 38 mega cities, and it is predicted that this number will double by 2050. Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and France are advancing strategies beyond mega cities to mega regions (mega-region, a connected urban area with a population over 10 million that shares social infrastructure such as transportation and logistics and has close economic and industrial linkages). Representative examples include the Manchester City Region in the UK, the Grand Paris Metropole in France, the Stuttgart Metropolitan Region in Germany, and the Kansai Metropolitan Area in Japan.

While this should be deeply discussed in our country as well, it is not easy to accept whether the recently raised mega city theory is truly for the people. The timing is peculiar. There has been no prior discussion or public opinion gathering, and it suddenly surfaced, leading to strong criticism that it is a 'spur-of-the-moment' and 'political show' aimed at the April general elections next year. There are also claims that the proposal to incorporate Gimpo into Seoul is a gambit to overcome the 'capital region crisis theory' that spread after the Seoul Gangseo District Office by-election defeat. It is evaluated as a strategy to stimulate desires for transportation convenience and real estate price increases due to Seoul incorporation.

In the real estate market, whether an area is part of Seoul or not has a significant impact on housing prices. Even in Wirye New Town, which spans Songpa in Seoul and Seongnam, there is a large price difference between Songpa and Seongnam. Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min also recently acknowledged at a seminar that "property values increase" if Gimpo is incorporated into Seoul. If the government and ruling party intended to stir up the issue, they have somewhat succeeded. However, there are also many forecasts that it will be a fleeting issue that disappears quickly. Mega city proposals have been a recurring theme brought up by many politicians every election season. President Yoon Suk-yeol also pledged Saemangeum Mega City and Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam Global Mega City during his candidacy, but now words like 'abandoned' or 'stalled' are heard.

The public is not foolish. People know that this mega city proposal is not a well-prepared policy but rather a move to win votes. Various opinion polls have already shown that more than half of respondents view this mega city policy plan as populism for the general election.