Geochang County Council Adopts Resolution Urging Maintenance of Metropolitan Council Electoral Districts

Urging the Maintenance of Existing Electoral Districts to Bridge the Urban-Rural Gap

Geochang County Council members announced a resolution on the 5th urging the maintenance of the metropolitan council electoral districts. Photo by Geochang County Council

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Choi Soon-kyung] The Geochang County Council in Gyeongnam announced a resolution on the 5th urging the maintenance of the metropolitan council electoral districts, opposing the reduction of metropolitan council electoral districts.

This follows the June 2018 Constitutional Court decision to change the population deviation ratio of metropolitan council electoral districts from 4:1 to 3:1, and Geochang County is expected to see its metropolitan council electoral district reduced from 2 seats to 1 seat.

On this day, the county council stated in the resolution, “At a time when various studies and media are sounding the alarm on the crisis of ‘local extinction,’ such a decision by the Constitutional Court can be said to run counter to the government’s national land balanced development and local decentralization policies,” adding, “Although the decision to base electoral district delineation on population numbers aims to resolve vote inequality, it merely pursues ‘mechanical equality’.”

They continued, “If electoral districts are redrawn according to the Constitutional Court’s decision, it is obvious that the local governments suffering damage will be the 17 cities and counties subject to electoral district reduction, including our county,” and pointed out, “In a situation where rural population outflow continues, redrawing electoral districts may be like pouring fuel on this phenomenon, which is concerning.”

Meanwhile, in Gyeongnam, four counties?Geochang, Haman, Changnyeong, and Goseong?are at risk of having their electoral districts reduced due to falling below the population threshold.

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