Pohang Mayor Lee Kang-deok: "A City with 500,000 Population Must Be Designated as a 'Special City'"

Attended the National Large Cities Mayors' Council held in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi-do on the 29th

On the 29th, Mayor Lee Kang-deok (fifth from the left) and other attendees of the National Association of Large City Mayors are posing for a commemorative photo.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongwook Park] On the 29th, Lee Gang-deok, mayor of Pohang, attended the '8th Regular Meeting of the National Association of Large City Mayors' held in Hwaseong and strongly expressed the opinion that all large cities with a population of over 500,000 should be designated as special cities.

Currently, regarding the designation of special cities, the Korea Association of Governors is requesting an amendment to the Local Autonomy Act to delete and separate the special city provisions. Some local governments in certain areas are raising voices opposing the designation of special cities due to financial deterioration caused by the conversion of provincial taxes to special city taxes.

In this situation, the Large City Mayors Association is collecting opinions from each city on this day. Mayor Lee Gang-deok urged the designation of special cities based on the current government proposal with a population criterion of over 500,000, considering administrative demand and national balanced development, in relation to Article 195, Paragraph 2 of the Local Autonomy Act (Recognition of Special Provisions for Large Cities).

The mayor explained, "Just as the designation of metropolitan cities led to the co-growth of the designated city and neighboring areas, the designation of special cities can achieve the same effect," adding, "The development of special cities as regional hub cities will also contribute to solving the rapid population outflow and job reduction problems in non-capital region cities."

Meanwhile, the National Association of Large City Mayors, established in 2003, consists of 15 large cities with populations over 500,000, excluding metropolitan cities. In July, at the 7th regular meeting, Lee Gang-deok, mayor of Pohang, was appointed as vice chairman.

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