People Power Party Busan Lawmakers Unanimously Propose 'Busan Special Metropolitan City Act'

"Not a Law Favoring Busan... Ensuring No Discrimination Among All Metropolitan Cities Nationwide"

On the 25th, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, and other lawmakers from the Busan area held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall criticizing the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport for opposing 'Gadeok Airport' and jointly proposing the Busan Special Metropolitan City Act. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] All members of the People Power Party from Busan will jointly propose the "Busan Special Metropolitan City Act" on the 25th, which aims to significantly strengthen educational and administrative authority in metropolitan cities and provinces nationwide. The bill intends to grant metropolitan local governments authority over education, infrastructure, and other areas.

At a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Hall on the morning of the same day, Ha Tae-kyung, a People Power Party lawmaker from Busan, along with other Busan-based party members, stated, "In the spirit of a new era where regions and Seoul coexist and develop fairly, all Busan lawmakers have jointly proposed this bill as a party leader's legislative initiative."

The Busan Special Metropolitan City Act, which Ha is expected to introduce as the main sponsor, aims to elevate metropolitan cities and provinces such as Busan to the level of "special metropolitan autonomous entities" to promote balanced development between Seoul and other regions. The bill intends to decentralize administrative authority currently concentrated in central government ministries to local governments.

He explained, "This is not a law that grants special privileges to Busan," adding, "The intention is that there should be no discrimination against metropolitan local governments across the country, including Jeju Province."

He further added, "In this day and age, it is against the spirit of fairness to give some provinces more authority while giving others less."

Specifically, he said, "For regional development, metropolitan governments should be granted more authority in education and urban infrastructure." He added, "For example, local governments currently have no authority over universities; the Ministry of Education holds all such authority," emphasizing that "the bill includes provisions to grant more educational authority to local regions."

He continued, "If this bill passes, the Ministry of Education will effectively cease to exist," and stressed, "The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport could also be downsized to the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Agency."

Regarding the name of the bill, "Busan Special Metropolitan City Act," he explained, "It was named to reflect the determination to ensure fair regional development in line with the spirit of the times."

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