Chungnam Pushes to Uphold Original Special City Act... Authority Transfer and Feasibility Exemptions

Accelerating Corporate Attraction and Industrial Transformation
through Substantial Decentralization of Central Authority
and Streamlined Investment Procedures

Jeon Hyung-sik, Deputy Governor for Political Affairs of Chungnam Province, is presiding over the meeting of the "Task Force for Reflecting the Original Special Act on Administrative Integration Special Cases."/Chungnam Province

Chungnam Province is focusing its administrative resources on ensuring that the original provisions of special exceptions in the "Special Act on the Establishment of Daejeon-Chungnam Special City and the Creation of an Economic and Science Capital" are reflected, as these will determine the tangible outcomes of the Daejeon-Chungnam administrative integration.

The province's strategy is to fundamentally transform the regional economic structure by transferring central government authority and exempting large-scale investment procedures.

On January 20, the province held the second meeting of the "Task Force for Reflecting the Original Proposal of the Special Act on Administrative Integration" at the provincial government office, reviewing key special exception provisions in the fields of economy, industry, and local autonomy.

According to the province, the core of the special act lies in transferring central government authority to local governments in a substantive, not merely formal, manner.

The bill includes provisions to transfer the work, personnel, and finances of special local administrative agencies in the areas of environment, small and medium-sized enterprises, employment and labor, and veterans affairs to the special city.

Currently, there are about 70 special local administrative agencies in Daejeon and Chungnam, but overlapping work with local governments has reduced administrative efficiency and caused ongoing confusion for residents.

For example, civil complaints regarding environmental administration are received by cities and counties, but the authority to manage and take action rests with the Geumgang Basin Environmental Office, resulting in delayed on-site responses.

In 2019, during the Hanwha Total vapor leak incident in Daesan, Seosan, reports flooded the local government, but the lack of authority revealed limitations in immediate response.

In the corporate and labor sectors, overlapping functions between central agencies and local governments in areas such as research and development support, overseas marketing, vocational training, and youth wage subsidies have only increased administrative costs. The province believes that if the original proposal of the special act is reflected, a unified, field-oriented administrative system will become possible.

The special act stipulates that investment review and preliminary feasibility studies will be exempted for 10 years after the launch of the special city. This aims to break the pattern where various projects are delayed for years due to repeated review procedures.

For example, Seosan Airport has been under consideration since the 1990s, but the project has been stalled for nearly 30 years due to preliminary and feasibility study procedures.

The province expects that if investment reviews and preliminary feasibility studies are exempted, large-scale projects can be implemented in a short period of time.

For corporate attraction, the special city mayor will be able to directly designate investment promotion zones to provide tax benefits and incentives, and request the designation of national industrial complexes directly from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Currently, the Daesan Petrochemical Complex in Seosan is one of the nation’s three major petrochemical complexes, but has been excluded from national support because it is not designated as a national industrial complex.

The Nonsan National Defense Industrial Complex, which was included in a government policy initiative, took several years to receive final approval, causing it to miss opportunities during the defense industry boom.

If designated as a national industrial complex, state funds will be invested in infrastructure, and tax reductions and regulatory easing will be applied, greatly improving conditions for attracting domestic and foreign companies.

The province plans to advance existing core industries such as semiconductors, displays, and secondary batteries through special exceptions for the designation of specialized clusters for materials, parts, and equipment, as well as national high-tech strategic industries. It also aims to foster new growth industries such as biohealth, future mobility, and defense as leading industries of the special city.

Deputy Governor Jeon Hyungsik stated, "The transfer of special local administrative agency work and the exemption of investment procedures are crucial to the success of administrative integration," adding, "We will focus all administrative capabilities to ensure that the special exceptions in the special act are reflected as originally proposed."