Spokesperson's Statement Released
The Gyeongbuk Provincial Council (Chairman Park Seong-man) proposed on the 16th that “while discussing the administrative integration of Daegu and Gyeongbuk, it is necessary to hold on-site meetings with local residents, expert forums, and public debates.”
On the afternoon of the same day, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council announced through a statement delivered by three spokespersons, including Assemblymen Yoon Jong-ho, Park Gyu-tak, and Kim Dae-jin, that “the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council places significance on continuing discussions on administrative integration, which is a national task that will determine the future administrative system of the Republic of Korea beyond regional issues of Daegu and Gyeongbuk, and demands the following from Governor Lee Cheol-woo and Mayor Hong Joon-pyo.”
(From the left) Three spokespersons, including Gyeongbuk Provincial Council members Yoon Jong-ho, Park Gyu-tak, and Kim Dae-jin, are announcing a statement regarding the administrative integration of Daegu and Gyeongbuk.
In the statement, the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council requested, “Above all, the administrative integration should be pursued for the benefit of city and provincial residents and through a democratic consensus process,” and “regional on-site meetings should be held to gather opinions from metropolitan and basic local governments as well as the relevant local councils.”
The Gyeongbuk Provincial Council further proposed, “To ensure the effectiveness of administrative integration and strengthen the autonomous legislative power of local councils, it is necessary to hold forums involving expert groups to secure the trust of local residents, and to hold meetings attended by the Gyeongbuk Governor, the Council Chairman, the Daegu Mayor, the City Council Chairman, and the Chairperson of the Association of Mayors and County Governors, as well as public debates through media outlets (such as TV).”
The Council added, “Even after Mayor Hong Joon-pyo’s declaration on August 27th that the administrative integration had failed, Gyeongbuk Province has continued internal reviews and meetings with related organizations regarding administrative integration and requested mediation from the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and the Local Era Committee. On the 11th, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s mediation proposal for promoting Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration was delivered to Gyeongbuk Province and Daegu City, and on the 13th, both the Daegu Mayor and Gyeongbuk Province expressed positive opinions.”
The mediation proposal presented by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety includes naming the integrated local government as the “Daegu-Gyeongbuk Special City,” setting its legal status as “equivalent to that of Seoul Special City,” and stipulating that the government should actively delegate affairs and finances to the integrated local government. However, while the existing government offices of Gyeongbuk and Daegu will be utilized, the location of the integrated local government’s main office and fire headquarters will be determined later by presidential decree, and the location of the council will be decided by a joint assembly of Daegu-Gyeongbuk council members, leaving some issues still requiring negotiation.
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