"Daegu-Gyeongbuk Administrative Integration Should Continue Without Suspension"... Unified Voice from Academia and Experts

Choi Jimin, Jeon Daewook, Park Gwan, Koo Jungtae: "Expansion of Ultra-Metropolitan Areas is a Global Trend"

With the initiation of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration project, discussions on the restructuring of South Korea's administrative system have become increasingly heated. The Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration is drawing attention as an innovative model not only for regional change but also for promoting national balanced development and strengthening local competitiveness.

At the "Special Seminar on the Challenges of Restructuring Local Administrative Systems," jointly hosted by the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration and the Korean Association for Public Administration on the 25th, academics and experts unanimously emphasized the necessity of integrating Daegu and Gyeongbuk.

Gyeongbuk Provincial Government

On this day, Choi Jimin, Associate Research Fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration, presented on "Restructuring Local Administrative Systems: Basic Directions and Alternatives," highlighting that the expansion of transnational and ultra-wide economic zones is a global trend.

He pointed out, "The current local administrative system has limitations in responding to issues that transcend administrative boundaries," and stressed the need to establish an ultra-wide administrative system by reintegrating metropolitan cities and provinces that were separated in the past. He further argued that "the ongoing discussions on administrative integration between Daegu and Gyeongbuk must continue without interruption." He predicted that, amid the global trend of expanding transnational and ultra-wide economic zones, the integration of Daegu and Gyeongbuk would become a leading example of change in the local administrative system, going beyond mere administrative boundary integration.

Jeon Daewook, Research Fellow at the Korea Research Institute for Local Administration, also stated in his presentation on "The Significance, Approaches, and Necessity of Restructuring Local Administrative Systems" that "to prepare for the ultra-wide scale of administrative demand, it is necessary to integrate cities and provinces or establish ultra-wide local governments, while also revitalizing community-based neighborhood autonomy to address population decline and aging."

The case of "Tokyo-to" in Japan, which Gyeongbuk Province has cited as a reference model for the Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration, also drew attention.

Park Gwan, Professor at Sangji University, in his presentation "How Should We View the Restructuring of Local Administrative Systems? Cases and Implications from Japan, the United Kingdom, and France," suggested that "the case of Tokyo-to in Japan, which encompasses 23 special wards, 26 cities, 5 towns, and 8 villages, each performing functions suited to their local circumstances, can be benchmarked."

He also emphasized administrative integration between metropolitan areas as a breakthrough to overcome the crisis of local extinction at the level of basic local governments.

Gu Jeongtae, Senior Expert at the Korea Association of Mayors, Governors, and District Heads, who participated as a panelist, stated, "Restructuring the administrative system is a last-resort alternative chosen to respond to the concentration in the capital area and the risk of local extinction," and added, "To maximize the effects of administrative system restructuring, it is necessary to focus more on metropolitan integration."

The voices of academia are in line with the recent remarks of Lee Cheolwoo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province.

In a recent executive meeting, Governor Lee emphasized that the integration of metropolitan governments and local decentralization are already global standards, stating that "integration is not a choice but a necessity." He also expressed his strong determination to achieve a national transformation by fostering new growth hubs to counterbalance the capital area.

Gyeongbuk Province clearly recognizes that the Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration is not merely a regional change, but a national task that will determine South Korea's future competitiveness, and plans to continuously pursue the integration process, steadfastly presenting the direction South Korea should take in the era of global competition.

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