55% of Gyeonggi Residents Support Establishing Gyeonggi Bukbu Special Autonomous Province... 65.2% of Northern Residents Agree

Public Opinion Survey on the Establishment of Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province

A survey revealed that 55% of Gyeonggi Province residents support the establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 21st the results of a survey conducted in July on the establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province, targeting 5,000 residents of Gyeonggi Province, along with an analysis of related data.

The survey results showed that 55% (2,750 people) of respondents supported the establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province. Opposition stood at 21.6%, while 23.4% were unsure or did not respond.

When divided into southern and northern Gyeonggi, 65.2% in northern Gyeonggi supported the proposal. Opposition was 16.3%, and unsure/no response was 18.6%. In southern Gyeonggi, the approval rate was lower at 51.4%, with opposition at 23.5% and unsure/no response at 25.1%.

In a survey asking about willingness to participate in a resident referendum on the establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province, 71.8% (3,590 people) expressed their intention to vote.

The willingness to participate in the referendum was higher in northern Gyeonggi compared to southern Gyeonggi.

Separating Gyeonggi Province into northern and southern parts falls under matters related to national policies such as the establishment, abolition, or merger of local governments. For this, according to Article 5 of the Local Autonomy Act and Article 8 of the Resident Referendum Act, opinions of local councils must be heard or a resident referendum conducted to gather residents' views.

The establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province is a key pledge of Governor Kim Dong-yeon of Gyeonggi Province. Governor Kim recently emphasized that listening to residents' opinions through a referendum is essential.

To sufficiently gather public opinion and build consensus regarding the establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province, Gyeonggi Province established a dedicated organization for the special self-governing province in January and held briefing sessions for public officials from 31 cities and counties, policy debates, and regional deliberation meetings.

Governor Kim plans to hold a "Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province Vision Declaration" event at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Northern Office on September 25, where he will explain the vision and future plans related to the establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province.

Earlier, on the 19th, Governor Kim met with Kim Gyo-heung, Chairman of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, and National Assembly members Kang Byung-won and Kim Seong-won to request cooperation for the enactment of a special law related to the establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province.

Meanwhile, this survey was conducted by Gyeonggi Province through Global Research Co., Ltd., a professional polling agency, from July 14 to 26. It targeted 5,000 Gyeonggi residents aged 18 and older using telephone interviews (both landline and mobile RDD). The margin of error is ±1.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

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