Kim Minjae, Vice Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated that "the final name of the Integrated Special City will be determined during the legislative process in the National Assembly."
Vice Minister Kim made these remarks during a briefing on administrative integration incentives held at the Government Complex Seoul on the morning of January 16.
Previously, there had been heated debate among political circles and local communities regarding the name of the Integrated Special City to be established through the administrative integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province. When the Democratic Party of Korea proposed "Chungcheong Special City" (tentative name), opposition arose from Daejeon, the local community, and opposition parties. In response, the Democratic Party clarified that it agreed with the idea of including both "Daejeon" and "South Chungcheong" in the specific name.
In the case of Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, the draft of the special law released the previous day designated the name as "Gwangju-Jeonnam Special City," with the possibility of changing it in the future by reflecting the opinions of the local council in accordance with the Local Autonomy Act.
On this day, Vice Minister Kim said, "Regarding whether it should be 'Daejeon-Chungnam' or 'Chungnam-Daejeon,' if I mention 'Chungnam-Daejeon' first, it seems that some people use that name because the integration is focused on grouping the entire Chungnam region as a single administrative area, and that emphasis is reflected in the name."
He added, "For the name 'Gwangju-Jeonnam,' it appears that, since Gwangju holds symbolic meaning in the Honam region, the name was chosen to signify the development of a connected region centered around Gwangju."
Vice Minister Kim emphasized, "Ultimately, the final decision will be made by sufficiently gathering residents' opinions during the legislative process in the National Assembly."
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