Gwangju Mayor Lee Yong-seop: "Gwangju-Jeonnam Integration is Preparing for the Future"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] Lee Yong-seop, Mayor of Gwangju Metropolitan City, has taken a step forward for the recently highlighted administrative integration of Gwangju and Jeonnam.

On the 15th, at an expanded executive meeting, Mayor Lee stated, “The discussion on Gwangju-Jeonnam integration is about preparing for the future,” and added, “I hope support will be provided so that broad discussions can take place before it is too late.”

It appears that Mayor Lee expressed his position on the day as some discomfort was shown in political circles regarding the administrative integration of Gwangju and Jeonnam.

Mayor Lee firmly dismissed concerns about political calculations by saying, “I merely expressed my usual belief that administrative integration discussions must begin before it is too late, solely to achieve mutual growth and co-prosperity of Gwangju and Jeonnam, and to leave a prosperous future for the next generation.”

He emphasized the necessity of integration by citing ▲a development strategy that can achieve the two goals of ‘national balanced development and enhancement of urban competitiveness,’ ▲the global trend of super-regionalization or mega-cities among local governments, and ▲the path to securing joint prosperity and competitiveness for Gwangju and Jeonnam by moving away from parochialism and unnecessary competition.

He explained, “This year, for the first time, the population of the metropolitan area surpassed that of the non-metropolitan areas. The gap between the metropolitan area and local regions is deepening, which is lowering the country’s growth potential. Through integration, a single metropolitan economic zone capable of self-sustaining and independent economy will be established, forming a stronger economic bloc than now and enabling local decentralization. Domestically, it will serve as a catalyst for national balanced development, and externally, it will be a turning point for our Gwangju-Jeonnam to leap forward as a glocal leading city.”

He continued, “If Gwangju and Jeonnam fail to keep up with the flow and changes of the times and remain stagnant without even discussing integration, economic backwardness and isolation will be inevitable,” and added, “To secure joint prosperity and future competitiveness, full-scale integration discussions must be initiated now.”

He also said, “Administrative integration goes beyond the physical meaning of merging the administrative organizations of Gwangju City and Jeonnam Province; it will bring social and emotional unity to the Gwangju-Jeonnam citizens who share one root, and its effects will be very diverse, extensive, and significant,” adding, “Gwangju and Jeonnam have been a community of shared destiny for a thousand years. If each pursues survival on their own and competes fiercely on every issue, it will only lead to mutual destruction.”

Mayor Lee emphasized once again, “Many procedures are needed to achieve complete integration,” and said, “It is a long road ahead including gathering opinions from city and provincial citizens, reaching consensus among Gwangju City, Jeonnam Province, their councils, political circles, and civic groups, conducting a referendum, and revising the Local Autonomy Act, but it is a timely task that can no longer be delayed.”

He added, “Moving beyond the abstract slogan ‘Gwangju and Jeonnam are one,’ just the start and concretization of sincere integration discussions within the consensus of local residents will have positive effects such as reducing excessive competition or overlapping investments between the two cities and provinces and responding in unison to regional issues like the establishment of a medical school in Jeonnam,” and concluded, “The discussion of integration itself is the best way for mutual growth and co-prosperity.”

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