Governor Park Wansu Reaffirms Commitment to Administrative Integration... BUK Leaders' Meeting in Early September Uncertain

"Our stance remains unchanged: We must respond to the capital region's centralized system through administrative integration, without passing through a special union stage."

Wansu Park, Governor of South Gyeongsang Province, reiterated his unwavering commitment to the administrative integration of the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (BUK) region.

On September 3, Provincial Assembly member Sanghak Jeong of the People Power Party questioned Governor Park on the principles and direction of the Gyeongnam-Busan administrative integration during the 3rd plenary session of the 436th regular meeting of the Provincial Assembly.

At the 3rd plenary session of the 436th regular meeting of the Gyeongnam Provincial Council, Councilor Jeong Ssanghak (left) is asking Governor Park Wansu about the principles and directions for promoting the administrative integration between Gyeongnam and Busan. [Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Council YouTube plenary session screen capture]

Governor Park stated, "Cooperation among the three local governments of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam must continue in some form," but added, "In order to counter the dominance of the capital region, we need a dual regional power structure achieved through administrative integration that ensures authority and status."

He pointed out, "A special local government unit is just one method under the Local Autonomy Act for regional administrative cooperation—not a measure specifically intended to counter the capital region. Establishing such a special entity would require dedicated personnel and its own council. For example, even in resource documents from the 7th directly elected administration, it was estimated that nearly 200 personnel would be needed."

He continued, "Currently, BUK efficiently handles wide-area tasks and secures central government funding with only 21 personnel through economic alliance efforts. I question whether it is necessary to spend the budget on a special local government entity that would require a large organization with many staff and correspondingly large financial resources."

Governor Park reiterated, "To counterbalance the capital region, we need a dual power structure—but such a structure cannot be achieved without integration." He once again outlined the prerequisites for administrative integration: ▲ a bottom-up decision through a resident referendum ▲ securing the authority and status of the integrated local government ▲ making the final BUK integration a prerequisite for administrative unification.

"Our position on promoting administrative integration remains unchanged," he added. "If Busan agrees even now, we can proceed as previously announced by then-Mayor Hyungjun Park and hold a resident referendum to advance the process."

He also stated, "We have submitted a special law to the National Assembly that would guarantee the status and autonomy of the integrated local government. If the special law passes, we would secure the authority and status we are seeking."

Governor Park said, "If, during the National Assembly's deliberation, clauses concerning the status and authority of the integrated local government are removed from the special law, as President Jaemyung Lee has said about referring to it as a 'local government' rather than a 'municipality,' I will question whether the central government truly intends to grant local governments the appropriate authority and status they deserve."

He continued, "I believe that the central government should use this opportunity to make the first-ever integration of wide-area local governments in Korea a turning point in the history of Korean local autonomy. This is necessary for balanced regional development and for local governments to possess real authority and status."

On this day, Governor Park anticipated that a meeting between the mayors and governors of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam regarding administrative integration would be difficult to arrange in early September.

He explained, "South Gyeongsang has already settled on the need for administrative integration, but it seems that Busan and Ulsan have not yet finalized their positions. According to media reports, Busan and Ulsan are advocating for the restoration of the special union, but I have not received official responses from the two mayors."

He further noted, "Once some consensus is reached, the regional leaders would like to meet and make an announcement, but as working-level discussions do not seem to be progressing, I am not sure if a meeting of BUK's mayors and governors will take place in early or mid-September. I believe we need to quickly finalize our positions and make them public to the residents."

Previously, during the 8th directly elected administration in January of last year, Governor Park and then-Busan Mayor Hyungjun Park presented an administrative integration plan that called for holding a resident referendum and passing a special law, aiming to achieve administrative integration by 2028 and elect an integrated local government head during the April 2028 general election.

However, after the 9th nationwide local elections on June 3, Park secured reelection in South Gyeongsang, but the mayors of Busan and Ulsan changed to Democratic Party members, requiring new discussions over the direction of cooperation between the three local governments, including administrative integration.

Moreover, after taking office, Mayor Jaesoo Jeon of Busan demonstrated strong resolve to restore the BUK special union, proposing the creation of a 'special union' (a special wide-area local government) as a step leading toward administrative integration. During his candidacy, Mayor Sangwook Kim of Ulsan also expressed strong support for restoring the special union. As a result, the ultimate pursuit of BUK administrative integration remains somewhat uncertain.

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