Preliminary North Gyeongsang Governor Candidate Choi Kyunghwan Calls TK Administrative Integration Committee Revision an “Empty-Shell” Special Act

"Plenary Passage Must Be Put on Hold"
No Legally Binding Clause for 20 Trillion Won in Support

On February 20, Choi Kyunghwan, preliminary candidate for Governor of North Gyeongsang Province, stated, "The revised bill for the 'Daegu-Gyeongbuk Administrative Integration Special Act,' which is set to pass the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 24th, has stripped out all the core elements that should guarantee the future of the region, leaving only a nominal integration to be forced upon us. It is nothing more than an 'empty-shell special act' in name only."

At a press conference held at 2:30 p.m. that day at the North Gyeongsang Province chapter of the People Power Party in Beomeo-dong, Suseong-gu, Daegu, Choi said, "The government initially promised support for the integrated special city in the amount of 5 trillion won per year, totaling 20 trillion won over four years, but there is no legal mechanism in the revised bill anywhere that would make this binding," adding, "With only declaratory language about striving to expand fiscal resources, we cannot guarantee the future of the region."

Choi Kyunghwan, prospective candidate for Gyeongbuk Governor

Choi went on to say, "Key projects that should serve as the driving force of integration, such as support for areas surrounding the relocated military airport, fostering advanced new industries, constructing railways and expressways, and promoting balanced regional development, have now been blocked by the barrier of preliminary feasibility studies. In particular, the special provisions on relocating public institutions have been watered down, as the clear standard of 'preferential treatment of more than double' has been changed to the vague expression of 'giving priority consideration.' This is nothing more than a token gesture with no real effect," and he argued, "Under these circumstances, insisting on 'integration first, improvement later' is an act of deceiving the citizens of the city and province."

He also said, "This revised bill reveals a serious fairness problem when compared with the special act for South Jeolla Province and Gwangju. The gap lies in support for the military airport: South Jeolla and Gwangju have clearly established fiscal and institutional measures for airport revitalization and building an industrial ecosystem, but the Daegu-Gyeongbuk bill has no substantive fiscal basis."

Preliminary candidate Choi Kyunghwan said, "There is also a stark difference in the provisions for fostering the AI industry. South Jeolla and Gwangju have included numerous AI-related provisions and have systematically designed future strategic industries, whereas Daegu and North Gyeongsang remain at only a fragmentary level," and he stressed, "While South Jeolla and Gwangju have well-crafted special provisions for future mobility, the Daegu-Gyeongbuk bill has either deleted or failed to include provisions on creating a 'bio-vaccine super cluster' and establishing a 'national base medical school,' effectively abandoning the survival strategy of the northern region of North Gyeongsang Province."

Choi said, "This revised bill is not only substantively weak in content, it also lacks democratic procedures such as a resident referendum, which creates a very high risk of causing division and conflict within the region," and he urged, "It must be thoroughly revised at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee stage. 'Integration first, improvement later' is unacceptable, and during the committee’s review, special provisions at least on the level of the South Jeolla-Gwangju special act (including AI, bio, and military airport support) must be fully restored."

Choi continued, "Substantive securing of independent financial resources and strengthening of autonomous administrative authority, which are preconditions for integration, must be ensured, and the deleted provisions such as the 'bio-vaccine super cluster' and 'establishment of a medical school' must be restored to guarantee the right to survival of the northern region of North Gyeongsang Province," adding, "For the new airport project, the special act must include a basis to overcome the limitations of the donation-for-transfer model and to pursue the relocation of the military airport as a 100% state-funded project from the perspective of national security."

Preliminary candidate Choi Kyunghwan declared, "If these core issues are not resolved, the plenary passage must be immediately put on hold," vowing to fight to the end for a genuine integration that will substantively change the lives of the residents of North Gyeongsang Province.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.