Controversial 'Mega Seoul Plan' for General Election... Useless If It Fails to Boost Overall Competitiveness of the Capital Region

Only Two Mergers Since the Revival of Local Autonomy
"Expansion of Living Areas Like Paris and Tokyo Should Also Be Considered"

The controversy over 'Seoul city annexation' is expanding beyond Gimpo City to surrounding satellite cities such as Guri City and Goyang City. This is the so-called 'Mega Seoul Theory.' Proponents argue that as Seoul's living area gradually expands due to transportation development, the 'Mega Seoul Theory' is a topic worth serious consideration. However, it is also true that there are still many legal and emotional hurdles to overcome. We have examined past cases of local government integration, legal issues, and overseas examples leading up to the emergence of the 'Mega Seoul Theory.'

Chairman Jo Kyung-tae of the New City Project Special Committee of the People Power Party submitted a special bill on the change of jurisdictional boundaries between Gyeonggi Province and Seoul Metropolitan City at the National Assembly Secretariat on the 16th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

◆Only 3 annexations and 2 integrations so far= Since the revival of the local autonomy system in 1995, there have been a total of five cases where local governments annexed other local governments or merged with each other. Annexation means maintaining the existing local government system while changing the upper-level local government, whereas integration means abolishing the existing local governments and creating a new local government.

There have been three annexations. In 1995, when direct-controlled cities were changed to metropolitan cities, Dalseong County in Gyeongbuk was annexed to Daegu Metropolitan City, and Ganghwa County and Ongjin County in Gyeonggi Province were annexed to Incheon Metropolitan City. In July this year, Gunwi County in Gyeongbuk was annexed to Daegu Metropolitan City. There have been two integrations: the integrated Changwon City in 2010, which combined Changwon City, Masan City, and Jinhae City in Gyeongbuk, and the integrated Cheongju City in 2014, which combined Cheongju City and Cheongwon County.

Failures in integration are more common. Jeonju City and Wanju County attempted integration three times in 1997, 2009, and 2013, all of which failed. In particular, in 2013, a referendum was held, but it did not succeed due to opposition from Wanju residents. The integration plan for Seongnam, Gwangju, and Hanam cities in Gyeonggi Province was frustrated in 2010 as it failed to pass the National Assembly standing committee. The claim for annexing Seoul satellite cities has arisen every time there was an administrative district reorganization, but there has never been a successful case. Currently, there are proposals to integrate Andong City and Yecheon County, as well as seven cities in central Gyeonggi Province including Gunpo City, Gwacheon, Anyang, Uiwang, Ansan, Gwangmyeong, Siheung, and Gunpo.

Kim Byung-su, Mayor of Gimpo City, is greeting Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul, at Seoul City Hall on the 6th before discussing the incorporation of Gimpo City into Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

◆Special law proposed for Gimpo's annexation to Seoul= The People Power Party proposed a special law on the 16th to annex Gimpo City to Seoul. The core content is to abolish Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province and establish 'Gimpo-gu, Seoul.' The effective date is January 1, 2025.

Various methods such as 'autonomous city' and 'special autonomous city' have been suggested regarding the form of annexation. The controversy over the form of annexation stems from concerns that if a city in Gyeonggi Province becomes a district of Seoul, its budget and autonomous authority will be greatly reduced. Seoul and its 25 autonomous districts are classified as 'non-recipient entities of the general grant tax,' so they do not receive general grant tax from the government. Also, the national subsidy rate is applied 10 to 30 percentage points lower than other metropolitan local governments. Additionally, if the mayor of Gyeonggi Province becomes the district head of Seoul, 42 authorities in 14 areas, including urban planning establishment rights, will disappear.

The ruling party's solution is a 'special law.' The bill includes that 'Gimpo-gu, Seoul' will retain benefits such as special admissions for rural students and reductions in registration license tax, property tax, and capital gains tax until the end of 2030. It also provides a grace period until the end of 2030 for administrative measures by Gyeonggi Province and the provincial education office, local grant tax, subsidies, and local education finance grants applied to Gimpo. The ruling party plans to create additional special laws for other adjacent cities such as Guri City in Gyeonggi Province if agreements with Seoul are reached.

◆Overseas 'Mega City' cases= The logic of proponents of 'Mega Seoul' is that Seoul is narrow compared to other major cities worldwide, so expansion is necessary. However, there is also an argument that enhancing the competitiveness of the entire metropolitan area should come before expanding Seoul's area.

Seoul's area is 605 km². It is smaller than Beijing (1,368 km²), New York (784 km²), and London (1,572 km²). However, there are many cases where the living area was expanded rather than the area itself. Representative examples are France's 'Grand Paris' and Japan's 'Tokyo Metropolis.' 'Grand Paris' is a large-scale project that built a new 200 km circular subway line connecting the outskirts of Paris with 72 stations. Paris's area is 105 km², only one-sixth of Seoul's. In 2016, the 'Grand Paris Metropole,' covering 814 km² by combining Paris and adjacent municipalities, was launched. Japan's Tokyo completed its current administrative district in 1943. The 23 special wards of Tokyo have an area (622 km²) similar to Seoul. However, if expanded to Tokyo Metropolis, the area is 2,190 km² with a population of 14 million.

Having a large area and population does not automatically make a mega city. Metropolitan areas exist worldwide, but many only have large populations without fulfilling the role of a mega city. Jin-yu Kim, a professor of urban transportation engineering at Kyonggi University, said, "Simply expanding Seoul's area does not solve problems such as overcrowding, traffic, and housing," adding, "We need to continue expanding metropolitan transportation infrastructure and disperse Seoul's functions to enhance the competitiveness of the entire metropolitan area through a mega city strategy."

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