"What Are the Issues with Hong Junpyo-Style Daegu-Gyeongbuk Administrative Integration?... Forum Held at National Assembly"

Hosted by Lawmakers Lim Mi-ae and Cha Kyu-geun
Discussion by Ha Hye-young, Kim Jae-hoon, and Lim Gi-jin

Democratic Party lawmaker Lim Mi-ae and Cho Kuk Innovation Party lawmaker Cha Kyugeun will hold a forum on the Hong Junpyo-style administrative integration of Daegu and Gyeongbuk.

Under the title "What Is the Problem with Hong Junpyo-Style Daegu-Gyeongbuk Administrative Integration? Seeking Democratic and Fair Administrative Integration Measures," the forum will be chaired by Professor Jeon Gwangseop of Honam University and will take place at 10 a.m. on the 13th in the 3rd Seminar Room of the National Assembly Members’ Office Building.

Daegu City Hall Dongin Office Building

Recently, in response to the dominance of the Seoul metropolitan area and the risk of regional extinction, most metropolitan governments have been promoting administrative integration and other forms of wide-area cooperation. In this context, Daegu Mayor Hong Junpyo and Gyeongbuk Governor Lee Cheolwoo are pushing for administrative integration with the goal of electing a unified Daegu-Gyeongbuk head in the 2026 local elections.

However, Mayor Hong Junpyo is proposing to decide the integration solely through the resolutions of the Daegu City Council and the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council, instead of conducting public opinion polls or referendums among Daegu and Gyeongbuk residents. Even if administrative integration is seen as a necessary trend for regional survival, there is criticism that Hong Junpyo’s approach is a unilateral, reckless integration that ignores the will of local residents.

In response, the offices of lawmakers Lim Mi-ae and Cha Kyugeun, together with the Daegu and Gyeongbuk branches of the Democratic Party, the Daegu branch of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, and the Korea Democratic Local Leaders Conference (KDLC), are hosting this forum to discuss why and how administrative integration should be pursued and to seek democratic and fair integration measures.

Prior to the forum, Kim Taeil, former chair of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Administrative Integration Public Deliberation Committee, will give a keynote speech on the problems of wide-area strategies for local governments under the theme "Good Integration, Bad Integration, Strange Integration."

For the main presentations, Geum Changho, senior research fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration, will discuss the local administrative system, the progress of system reforms, the review of Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration, and related issues.

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government Office

Panelists will include Ha Hyeyoung, legislative researcher at the National Assembly Research Service, Kim Bokyung, member of the Dalseong County Council in Daegu, Lim Gijin, member of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Council, Kim Jaehun, professor at Daegu University, and Park Jeongkwon, policy secretary at the National Assembly Speaker’s Office.

Lim Mi-ae stated, "Administrative integration is a significant change that will greatly impact the lives of local residents, so gathering their opinions and building trust is extremely important," adding, "Mayor Hong Junpyo should stop his unilateral administrative drive and follow democratic procedures."

This forum will be broadcast live on the YouTube channel ‘Lim Mi-ae TV’.