Mega Seoul and Gyeonggi Bukdo Require 'Resident Referendum'... Implementation Depends on Minister of the Interior and Safety

Resident Referendum and Administrative District Reorganization Decided by Minister of the Interior
Opposition Opinions May Arise from Basic Local Government Councils in Gyeonggi Bukdo

Gimpo City has requested the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to hold a resident referendum for incorporation into Seoul, drawing attention to the resident referendum system for administrative district reorganization in the metropolitan area, such as 'Mega Seoul' and the establishment of 'Gyeonggi Northern Province.' A resident referendum is a vote to decide local policies, but in this case, its implementation requires the decision of the head of a central administrative agency, namely the Minister of the Interior and Safety. Therefore, the direction of the metropolitan area administrative district reorganization is expected to be determined depending on the judgment made by the Minister of the Interior and Safety.

Kim Byung-su, Mayor of Gimpo City, is giving a greeting at the Seoul-Gimpo Climate Cooperation Card Expansion Participation Business Agreement Ceremony held on the morning of the 7th at the Seoul City Hall video conference room. Photo by Yonhap News

◆The decision-maker for resident referendums is the Minister of the Interior and Safety= Simply put, a resident referendum can be described as a 'national referendum' of local governments. Article 14 of the Local Autonomy Act states that "the head of a local government may submit to a resident referendum major decisions of the local government that impose excessive burdens or have significant impacts on residents." In other words, if the local government head decides, a resident referendum can be conducted. The 2011 Seoul Free School Meals resident referendum is a representative example.

However, the current controversies over Mega Seoul and the establishment of the Gyeonggi Northern Special Self-Governing Province (Gyeonggi Bukdo) are different. The authority to decide on holding a resident referendum lies with the head of a central administrative agency, not the local government head. Article 8 of the Resident Referendum Act states that "when it is recognized as necessary to hear residents' opinions on national policy establishment such as abolishing, establishing, dividing, or merging local governments (abolition, establishment, division, and merger) or changing local government boundaries or installing major facilities, the head of a central administrative agency may request the head of the local government to conduct a resident referendum."

Therefore, for resident referendums concerning the abolition, establishment, division, and merger of local governments such as Mega Seoul and Gyeonggi Bukdo, if the relevant local government head proposes it to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, which oversees local government affairs, the Minister of the Interior and Safety decides whether to proceed.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, since the Resident Referendum Act was enacted in 2004, a total of 12 resident referendums (6 national policy-related, 3 local government-related, and 3 resident-initiated) have been conducted. Among these, four administrative district reorganization cases?the 2005 Jeju administrative district reorganization, the integration of Cheongju City and Cheongwon County in Chungbuk, the 2012 Cheongju-Cheongwon integration, and the 2013 Jeonju-Wanju integration in Jeonbuk?were all initiated by the Minister of the Interior and Safety as the claimant, leading to resident referendums.

◆Local council opinion hearing can substitute = However, a resident referendum is not the only valid procedure for administrative district reorganization. It can also be done through hearing the opinions of local councils. Article 5 of the Local Autonomy Act stipulates that "when abolishing, establishing, dividing, or merging local governments, the opinions of local councils must be heard," but "if a resident referendum has been conducted, the opinion hearing of local councils is not required." To change jurisdictional boundaries, at least one of either local council opinion hearing or resident referendum must be conducted for the procedure to be valid. While approval is not strictly required to proceed with reorganization, if public opinion in the area is opposed, the administrative district reorganization may be derailed.

Because of recent difficulties with resident referendums, the proposal by Gyeonggi Province to consider hearing local council opinions has attracted attention. However, this is not easy either.

Local council opinion hearings require that when a related consent bill is submitted to the council, it must be approved through the general legislative process of "a majority of the total members present and a majority of the members present voting in favor." However, some local councils of the affected local governments, such as Gimpo City, Goyang Special City, and Guri City, which desire integration into Seoul, are likely to oppose the establishment of Gyeonggi Bukdo. Ultimately, if the consent bill is rejected by the local council, a resident referendum, which requires broader opinion confirmation, must be conducted. In this case, the decision of the Minister of the Interior and Safety becomes important again.

Discussions for Mega Seoul are expected to focus on determining the scope of the resident referendum. Minister Lee Sang-min stated at a seminar last month that "if a resident referendum is held for Gimpo City's incorporation into Seoul, it could be conducted only in Gimpo City, while Seoul and Gyeonggi Province could substitute with council resolutions." However, this approach may face criticism for asking residents' opinions only in one area while proceeding with council resolutions in others.

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