Daejeon City Council: "Daejeon-Chungnam Administrative Integration... 75.4% Say a Local Referendum Must Be Held"

"The true owners of administrative integration are not the government or political parties, but the citizens"

"Integration that does not seek the will of the citizens...cannot possess any form of legitimacy"

View of Daejeon City Council (Photo by Daejeon City Council)

Daejeon City Council (Chairman Cho Wonhui) denounced the special bill on administrative integration between South Chungcheong Province and Daejeon, which passed the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee on February 12, as a "hollow, rushed bill" and insisted that a local referendum must be held.

On February 12, the Public Administration and Security Committee held a plenary meeting late at night and passed special bills for regional administrative integration for Jeonnam-Gwangju, Daegu-Gyeongbuk, and Chungnam-Daejeon. The Gwangju-Jeonnam administrative integration bill and the Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration bill were approved by agreement between committee members from the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party, but the Daejeon-Chungnam administrative integration bill was passed solely by the Democratic Party of Korea, even though committee members from the People Power Party did not attend either the subcommittee or the plenary meeting.

Chairman Cho stated, "In this review by the Public Administration and Security Committee, key special provisions that must be guaranteed for successful administrative integration were not accepted, such as: adjustment of capital gains tax, corporate tax, and value-added tax; establishment of a special account under the Special Account for Regional Balanced Development; guaranteeing a total of 6% of ordinary local allocation tax over 10 years; supplementary adjustment of up to 25% of any shortfall in ordinary local allocation tax; supplementary adjustment of 25% of any shortfall in educational finance grants; and exemptions from preliminary feasibility studies and investment reviews." He went on to criticize, "All the elements necessary for genuine local autonomy have been completely excluded, and forced integration is being pursued without gathering opinions from provincial governors, mayors, or residents. Who is this really for?"

He further argued, "As the special provisions of the integration special law have been either removed or reduced, it has lost its original purpose of guaranteeing a 'high level of autonomy.' A bill that keeps the structure subordinated to the central government intact, while failing to clearly stipulate any substantial transfer of authority or financial support, is nothing more than an empty, hollow bill."

He also stressed, "This integration bill completely denies the region's demands for the establishment of a genuine local government and undermines the very essence of integration. If this hollow bill is pushed through, it will degenerate into a discriminatory law that concentrates powers and finances on large urban centers such as Cheonan and Asan, rather than promoting balanced development across metropolitan areas, and it will become a vicious law that effectively dismantles Daejeon."

Meanwhile, Chairman Cho said, "As of the 12th, the number of civil complaints submitted to the city council opposing integration stands at 1,835. In a public opinion survey conducted by local media, 50.5% of respondents opposed integration, and 75.4%, or 7 out of 10 people, answered that a local referendum should be held," adding, "This is a strong warning from citizens against the central government's bulldozing attitude."

He continued, "The true owners of administrative integration are not the government or political parties, but the citizens themselves. Unilaterally passing a hollow bill from which all core elements have been removed, while ignoring residents' deliberation and consent, is a mere formality devoid of democratic legitimacy," and emphasized, "Any integration that does not seek the will of the citizens cannot possess any form of legitimacy."

He also warned, "An arrogant approach that pushes the bill forward solely on the president's will is bound to face a backlash," and urged, "Stop trying to frame an issue that will determine the region's next hundred years solely in terms of political calculations."

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