"Daegu and North Gyeongsang Speak with One Voice for Passage of Administrative Integration Bill Pending in National Assembly Judiciary Committee During This Regular Session"

Daegu-Gyeongbuk Administrative Integration Task Force Meeting

The Daegu Metropolitan Government (Executive Vice Mayor Kim Junggi) and North Gyeongsang Provincial Government (Executive Vice Governor Hwang Myungseok) held a meeting of the "Daegu-Gyeongbuk Administrative Integration Promotion Task Force" at the North Gyeongsang Provincial Government office on September 14, officially launching a joint effort to ensure the passage of the administrative integration bill during the regular session of the National Assembly.

Even after the special bill on Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration was put on hold by the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee in February, Daegu and North Gyeongsang have continued to hold multiple working-level meetings to steadily push forward with the integration initiative.

To accelerate the administrative integration of Daegu and North Gyeongsang, the head of the "Daegu-Gyeongbuk Administrative Integration Promotion Task Force," previously led by the planning and coordination chiefs of both local governments until the eighth popular administration, has been raised to the level of deputy mayor and deputy governor. Kim Junggi, Executive Vice Mayor of Daegu, and Hwang Myungseok, Executive Vice Governor of North Gyeongsang Province, will now serve as co-heads of the task force.

At the meeting, participants acknowledged the urgent need to achieve administrative integration for Daegu and North Gyeongsang, particularly in light of Jeonnam-Gwangju, which began its administrative integration later and, in July, launched the Jeonnam-Gwangju Special Integrated City. This move has resulted in benefits such as attracting semiconductor investments totaling 800 trillion won, accelerating the relocation of military airports, and receiving government financial support for integration (amounting to 5 trillion won by 2027).

Daegu and North Gyeongsang plan to draft a joint explanatory document on administrative integration to ensure that the integration bill, currently pending before the National Assembly, is swiftly submitted to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee in September and passed during the regular session of the Assembly. As part of this, they will carry out step-by-step action plans, including briefing committee members and local lawmakers.

The administrative integration bill pending in the National Assembly initially included special supplementary provisions for elections based on the launch of the integrated special city in July 2026. However, since the target date for launching the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Special Integrated City has now shifted to July 2028, participants agreed there is a need to revise these supplementary provisions and held in-depth discussions on this issue. In particular, they focused on the timing and term of the integrated city mayor election, as well as special election provisions and terms for metropolitan assembly members.

Kim Junggi, Executive Vice Mayor of Daegu, stated, "The strongest momentum for the bill’s passage is created when the citizens of Daegu and North Gyeongsang speak with one voice. We will do our utmost to achieve the enactment of the bill within this year based on our united strength." Meanwhile, Hwang Myungseok, Executive Vice Governor of North Gyeongsang Province, said, "The greatest driving force for the bill’s passage is Daegu and North Gyeongsang acting together. We will work alongside Daegu so that the special city can be launched in July 2028 without delay by passing the special act during the regular session of the Assembly."

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