[Choi Jun-young's Urban Pilgrimage] Administrative District Integration and Establishment

Until the early 1990s, it was common to see banners in local areas saying "Congratulations on city promotion." This was a period when many counties were promoted to cities due to population growth. When the population of a specific administrative district exceeded 50,000, it was promoted to a city, resulting in the creation of many small-scale local governments. This trend reversed in 1995, ahead of the local elections, when local governments were reorganized into integrated city-county forms. The current administrative districts, decided at that time, have seen some changes such as the integration of certain local governments and the launch of Sejong Special Self-Governing City, but have largely remained unchanged.

Recently, discussions on integration at the metropolitan government level have intensified. Daegu Metropolitan City and Gyeongbuk Province have chosen an administrative integration plan that removes local government boundaries and are pushing to launch the (tentatively named) Daegu-Gyeongbuk Special Self-Governing Province by July 2022. Gwangju Metropolitan City and Jeonnam Province have also recently agreed to pursue a similar form of integration. Earlier, Busan Metropolitan City, Ulsan Metropolitan City, and Gyeongnam Province, which were discussing economic zone integration, are promoting a plan to create the Southeast Mega City. The integration of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam is known to be a federation-type form that manages only specific affairs jointly, differing from the forms of Daegu-Gyeongbuk and Gwangju-Jeonnam.

Metropolitan Government Integration Discussions Intensify
If Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integration is Realized
Population 5.1 Million... GRDP 165 Trillion Won

The integration of metropolitan governments is being pursued as part of efforts to expand the shrinking population and economic power compared to the metropolitan area. If the integration of Daegu and Gyeongbuk is realized, the population will reach 5.1 million, and the Gross Regional Domestic Product (GRDP) will be 165 trillion won, making it the third largest after Gyeonggi (13.24 million people, 473 trillion won) and Seoul (9.73 million people, 422 trillion won). If Gwangju and Jeonnam also integrate, the population will be 3.28 million, and the GRDP will reach 115 trillion won. These efforts aim to increase the budget scale available through integration and promote regional development through more metropolitan-level projects, reflecting the urgent and deteriorating situation of local areas.

Administrative districts literally refer to the areas under the jurisdiction of administrative agencies. Traditionally, administrative boundaries have been set based on natural features such as rivers and mountains. Once established, administrative districts have been regarded as the scope of economic and daily life, playing a role in fostering identity and belonging. While these boundaries worked relatively well in the past agricultural society, problems have arisen as transportation means like railroads and roads and various industries developed, causing administrative districts to differ from living and economic zones.

Issues such as having to commute to schools farther away and cases where a single apartment complex belongs to different administrative districts causing inconvenience are often found. The boundary between Seoul, located east of Anyangcheon, and Gwangmyeong City, located west, is extremely complex, with areas thought to be Seoul actually belonging to Gwangmyeong, and areas considered Gwangmyeong having Seoul facilities installed. Since administrative districts are the units for collecting various taxes including property tax, when large buildings are constructed on boundaries, they may be vertically divided and managed by two local governments. The Gwanghwamun Building in Seoul is a representative example: floors 1 to 11 are under Jongno-gu, and floors 12 to 20 are under Jung-gu.

Choi Jun-young, Senior Advisor at Yulchon LLC

Anyangcheon, East Seoul - West Gwangmyeong
Complexly Intertwined Including Property Tax
Gwanghwamun Building Also Under Jongno and Jung Districts

Recent discussions surrounding administrative districts mainly focus on integrating existing districts, but it is questionable whether this is the best approach. It is time to fundamentally question whether it is necessary to continue maintaining the 'do' (province) system established during the Joseon Dynasty. Economic and daily life activities cross these provincial boundaries, yet proper support and backing are often lacking simply because administrative districts are divided. New economic zones are created as companies settle and people gather along industrial value chains, but reality fails to reflect this.

The area around Asan Bay is a prime example. Facing Asan Bay are Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek in Gyeonggi Province, and Seosan, Dangjin, and Asan in Chungnam Province. This area concentrates production sites of Korea's leading conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motor, as well as petrochemical and steel industries. Previously consisting of mudflats and wetlands, this area was a major target for reclamation projects and was frequently discussed when deciding industrial locations from the 1970s. It began to grow as an industrial hub in the late 1980s and took its current form through rapid growth in China in the 2000s and the expansion of transportation networks including the West Coast Expressway.

Simple Regional Integration Has Limited Effect
Manage by Industrial Connectivity
Consider Living and Economic Zones

Although economically developed, there is no institution capable of comprehensively managing and supporting this area. Trapped within administrative district frameworks, the potential to drive employment and growth through systematic support and management is not being utilized. The government recognized the importance of this area and designated it as the Yellow Sea Free Economic Zone in 2008, but it failed to produce concrete activities and results. Recently, the name changed to Gyeonggi Free Economic Zone, shifting the focus to the West Coast area of Gyeonggi Province rather than Chungnam Province.

What if Hwaseong, Pyeongtaek, Seosan, Dangjin, and Asan, all facing Asan Bay, were grouped into a new administrative district? Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek could grow faster by escaping metropolitan area regulations, while Seosan, Dangjin, and Asan could expand regional investments and create more jobs. Of course, creating a new administrative district centered only on industrial hubs could be criticized as narrow regionalism that makes it harder for underdeveloped areas to develop. However, from a national perspective, it likely would have had more positive effects.

Administrative districts are not eternal or inviolable entities. If the ongoing discussions on administrative district integration end only with the merging of existing local governments, the effects will inevitably be limited. It would be clearly more effective to manage regions with strong industrial connections together and to integrate underdeveloped areas needing support for bold and systematic assistance. The discussions on metropolitan government integration provide an opportunity to move beyond traditional boundary concepts and consider creating and changing administrative districts based on living and economic zones.

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