People Power Party Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly Members Oppose Hasty Promotion of Bu-Ul-Gyeong Special Self-Governing Province

Opening Ceremony of the Joint Promotion Team for the Special Local Government of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Ju Cheol-in] Regarding the movement to launch the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (Buulgyung) Special Local Government, members of the Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly affiliated with the People Power Party expressed opposition and raised their voices.

On the 14th, the People Power Party members of the Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly issued a statement titled "Strongly Opposing the Hasty Promotion of the Buulgyung Special Local Government."

In the statement, they said, "The promotion of the Buulgyung Special Local Government is a new national balanced development strategy aimed at alleviating concentration in the metropolitan area by removing barriers among the formerly unified Gyeongnam, Busan, and Ulsan, expanding scale through mutual cooperation and solidarity to maximize regional benefits. Since this is an important project that can determine Gyeongnam's future for the next hundred years, a cautious approach is necessary."

They added, "The three cities and provinces established a joint promotion team for the Buulgyung Special Local Government in July last year and are working toward launching it within the first half of this year. However, due to the rushed promotion under time pressure, conflicting interests among the cities and provinces have sharply emerged, leading to even arguments about whether the establishment of the Buulgyung Special Local Government brings any benefit to Gyeongnam."

They argued that it is not appropriate for Gyeongnam to make major decisions affecting its future under the acting governor system, and opposed the current proposal for equal distribution of assembly seats in the Buulgyung Special Local Government Assembly, citing that it violates the principle of vote equivalence.

Furthermore, although the location of the special local government office was agreed to be in the geographical center of Buulgyung, the concept is vague and could lead to disputes. They also expressed concern that rotating the head of the special local government could exacerbate issues of fairness and objectivity among regions regarding the handling of metropolitan affairs.

In addition, they pointed out concerns that major projects are concentrated on transportation networks and living area projects limited to Busan, Ulsan, and the eastern Gyeongnam region, which could deepen regional imbalances.

The People Power Party assembly members emphasized, "Since this year includes the presidential and local elections, which could cause variables in project promotion, it is reasonable to delay the launch somewhat and proceed with more thorough preparations."

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