"Rural Areas Are Different" ... Changnyeong-gun and 13 Other Local Governments Submit Joint Petition to Maintain Metropolitan Council Election Districts

Regional Political Narrowing Possible... Calls for Change to Achieve National Balanced Development

Fourteen local governments nationwide, including Changnyeong-gun in Gyeongnam, delivered a joint petition expressing their hope to maintain the metropolitan council electoral districts to the preliminary candidates of the 20th presidential election and representatives of major political parties.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Changnyeong-gun, Gyeongnam Province announced on the 17th that it delivered a joint petition expressing the wish to maintain the metropolitan council electoral districts to the preliminary candidates for the 20th presidential election and representatives of major political parties, along with 13 other local governments nationwide.

The 14 local governments united in this effort are Changnyeong-gun, Haman-gun, Goseong-gun, Geochang-gun in Gyeongnam Province; Yeongwol-gun, Pyeongchang-gun, Jeongseon-gun in Gangwon Province; Yeongdong-gun, Okcheon-gun in Chungbuk Province; Seocheon-gun, Geumsan-gun in Chungnam Province; Seongju-gun, Cheongdo-gun, and Uljin-gun in Gyeongbuk Province.

On the 4th, they visited the National Assembly and delivered the joint petition on metropolitan council electoral district demarcation and residents' signature lists to Kim Tae-nyeon, Chairman of the Special Committee on Political Reform, and have now delivered the joint petition once again.

The 14 local governments, including Changnyeong-gun, also promoted a residents' signature campaign with the purpose of achieving a balance between urban and rural areas in the population-centered metropolitan council electoral district demarcation method, and realizing true local autonomy and balanced national development.

The joint petition includes requests to demarcate electoral districts reflecting regional representation by considering non-population factors such as administrative districts and area, and to establish special provisions in the Public Official Election Act that reflect the unique characteristics of rural and fishing villages.

The 14 local governments criticized the Constitutional Court's June 2018 ruling to change the population deviation ratio for metropolitan council members from 4:1 to 3:1 as excessively population-centered and failing to reflect the unique characteristics of rural and fishing villages.

Han Jeong-woo, the county governor, said, “For the sustainable development of the nation, resolving regional imbalances and balanced development tailored to regional characteristics are essential. The reduction of metropolitan council electoral districts is a serious issue that could narrow regional political representation, so we will do our best to protect the sovereignty of residents in rural and fishing areas.”

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