Mayor Lee Jang-woo Says "Hollowed-Out Special Bill Stripped of Substance Must Be Scrapped"

"Like the President said, integration must not be unilaterally forced without sufficient consensus"

"Only an integration with a high degree of autonomy guaranteed can overcome the Seoul metropolitan area-centered unipolar system and realize balanced development across the Republic of Korea"

Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo held a press conference in the briefing room at City Hall on the 25th and said, "The special bill led by the Democratic Party, which has been stripped of its substance and left only with the shell, is a hasty bill that runs counter to local decentralization and must be scrapped."

He went on to say, "We oppose such a bill because, if integration is carried out under such a law, it will create countless difficulties that city and provincial residents will have to endure," adding, "As the Mayor of Daejeon, I believe I have a duty and obligation to protect the interests of Daejeon citizens as much as possible, and in that sense, the National Assembly Judiciary Committee’s decision yesterday to put the Daejeon-Chungnam special bill on hold was a very good move."

Mayor Lee said, "Despite the fact that this is a matter that has a significant impact on the lives of local residents, it was pushed through unreasonably without sufficient consent from citizens," and stressed, "If integration is carried out in a hasty manner, it is obvious that it will only cause serious conflict and confusion. As the President said, integration must not be unilaterally forced without sufficient consensus."

He continued, "Even among the 75% of citizens who support pursuing integration, many expressed the view that a sufficient process of review and preparation must come first, rather than moving ahead in July this year," adding, "In particular, through the thousands of city and provincial residents who gathered at the National Assembly yesterday in the cold weather to block this rushed integration, we were able to confirm the earnest will of the residents."

He then criticized, saying, "This kind of public opinion among residents is the result of the ruling party pushing ahead with administrative integration while thinking only of partisan interests and ignoring local views, following the President’s remarks on December 5 last year."

He said, "The administrative integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province is a grave matter that must be concluded only after sufficiently expanding the consensus among residents and gathering more opinions from many citizens," and emphasized, "The integration that Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province seek to achieve is to demand legislation that fits regional decentralization and regional equality, with a high degree of autonomy guaranteed."

He added, "The most important task is to secure a large-scale transfer of authority over local fiscal autonomy, organizational structure, affairs, and powers so that we can develop our own city ourselves, and to establish an institutional foundation that allows local issues to be resolved by the region itself."

Mayor Lee said, "The administrative integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province aims to achieve genuine local autonomy by embodying a revolutionary advance in regional equality," and stated, "Only an integration in which a high degree of autonomy is guaranteed can overcome the Seoul metropolitan area-centered unipolar system and realize balanced development across the Republic of Korea."

He further criticized, saying, "However, during the deliberations at the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee, the transfer of fiscal authority was completely deleted, and the key special provisions we strongly demanded were hollowed out to the point that it is hard to recognize their original intent."

In particular, he reiterated his criticism, saying, "Most of the powers necessary to directly design and manage the future growth of the integrated special city, such as the permanent transfer of national tax revenues to local governments and exemptions from preliminary feasibility studies, were excluded, and the provisions on state support were downgraded from obligations to discretionary measures."

In conclusion, Mayor Lee said, "Going forward, the Daejeon Metropolitan City Government will make even greater efforts to reflect residents’ opinions as much as possible and to find the best possible plan that all citizens can agree on."