Gwangju City Council "Agree on the Need for Gwangju-Jeonnam Integration, Will Begin Full-Scale Discussions"

Gwangju City's Proposal Without Consultation Is Hard to Sympathize With

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] The Gwangju Metropolitan Council has expressed that it finds it "difficult to sympathize" with Mayor Lee Yong-seop of Gwangju Metropolitan City's proposal for administrative integration between Gwangju and Jeonnam.

On the 15th, the Gwangju Metropolitan Council stated in a press release titled "Gwangju Metropolitan Council's Position on City-Province Integration," "It is very regrettable that such a proposal was made without consulting the council, the representative body of the citizens," and added, "Our council finds it difficult to sympathize with the way such a significant matter was presented."

The council emphasized, "Gwangju and Jeonnam have previously attempted city-province integration twice, but both attempts failed. These were results of pushing forward without sufficient opinion gathering to build consensus," and stressed, "Gwangju must never overlook these lessons."

It continued, "Regarding city-province integration, regardless of support or opposition, the priority should be to consider which decision can develop our region and lead the future," and argued, "Even now, Gwangju should actively communicate with the council, autonomous districts and their councils, and civil society to gather opinions, establish a long-term roadmap reflecting those results, and then present an official position."

Furthermore, it stated, "The council also acknowledges the necessity of integration and will begin full-scale discussions from now on."

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