Gyeongnam Governor Park Wan-su: "Mega Busan is meaningless, administrative integration efforts are necessary"

Park Wan-su, Governor of Gyeongnam Province, recently dismissed the so-called 'Mega City Busan' initiative, which advocates for the incorporation of Gimhae and Yangsan in Gyeongnam into Busan, alongside the controversy over Gimpo in Gyeonggi Province being incorporated into Seoul, as "meaningless."

At the heads of departments meeting on the 13th, Governor Park stated, "Even if the populations of Busan and Gyeongnam are combined, they amount to only about half of Gyeonggi Province's population, and with the population declining, the controversy over the incorporation of certain areas is meaningless."

He added, "Gimpo accounts for only 3% of Gyeonggi Province's population, and population concentration in the Seoul metropolitan area is increasing. The conditions of the metropolitan area and Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam are completely different."

Governor Park emphasized, "To respond to the unipolar system of the metropolitan area, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam must be combined," and stressed, "Efforts are needed for administrative integration of Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam to form a bipolar system."

Governor Park Wansu of Gyeongnam Province is presiding over the meeting of department and bureau heads.
[Photo by Gyeongnam Provincial Government]

Earlier, on the 7th, Gyeongnam Province issued a statement saying, "The discussion on the integration of Gimpo City into Seoul is an issue of administrative district reorganization within the metropolitan area," and "It is a matter for the relevant local governments to consult according to the procedures related to administrative integration under the Local Autonomy Act."

"The conditions such as population and economy in Gyeongnam and Busan, where administrative integration discussions are taking place, differ from those in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and other metropolitan areas," the statement said, adding, "The integration issue among Gimhae, Yangsan, and Busan, advocated by some politicians in the Busan area, cannot be a solution to respond to the unipolar system of the metropolitan area."

The province reiterated its willingness for administrative integration with Busan, stating, "A true Southeast Mega City can be realized through the administrative integration of Gyeongnam and Busan, which Gyeongnam Province has consistently pursued during the 8th local government administration."

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