Democratic Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Committee: "TK Administrative Integration Should Not Be Unilaterally Pushed, Must Go Through Resident Referendum"

The Democratic Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Committee proposed on the 4th in a statement, "Let the TK administrative integration be decided through a referendum after sufficiently going through a public discussion process."

The Democratic Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Committee claimed, "Despite the flood of opposition to the integration from residents in Gyeongbuk, including the Gyeongbuk Regional Mayors and County Governors Council and the City and County Council Chairpersons Council, following the signing of the joint agreement on Daegu-Gyeongbuk integration by representatives of four organizations including the Minister of the Interior and Safety on the 21st of last month, Gyeongsangbuk-do continues to engage in belated administration led by Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo."

Democratic Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Party Committee

Following the adoption of resolutions opposing integration by Andong City Council on the 25th and Yecheon County Council on the 30th of last month, strong opposition to integration also emerged at the Mayors and County Governors Council held in Pohang on the 24th and the City and County Council Chairpersons Council held in Yeongcheon on the 28th. In response, Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo announced on the 31st that he would hold administrative integration citizen briefings while touring districts.

Three days after Daegu City's plan was announced, on Sunday the 3rd, Gyeongsangbuk-do hastily sent text messages to reporters stating that it would also hold administrative integration regional resident briefings and announced plans for briefings in four regions through a press release dated the 4th. The Democratic Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Committee stated that Gyeongsangbuk-do is repeatedly being led by Mayor Hong Jun-pyo.

Mayor Hong has previously expressed his intention to decide on integration solely with the consent of the city and provincial councils, saying "there is no money for opinion polls" and "referendums are a waste of time." While most of Mayor Hong's claims were reflected in the joint agreement, Gyeongsangbuk-do has lost the initiative, and it is not even known how much of the negotiation content requested by Gyeongbuk has been incorporated.

The Democratic Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Committee added, "Pursuing such a significant matter as metropolitan local government integration without even following the legally prescribed procedures or conducting any public discussion, and unilaterally pushing it forward by exploiting the favorable political situation of Daegu-Gyeongbuk’s one-party dominance, is no different from disregarding the people and adopting a militaristic dictatorship mindset aimed at electing a gymnasium president."

The Democratic Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Committee strongly condemned Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo, who is pushing Daegu-Gyeongbuk integration while ignoring city and provincial residents and prioritizing political calculations, and Gyeongbuk Governor Lee Cheol-woo, who is busy being led by Mayor Hong. They urged that even now, the process should go through sufficient public discussion, reflect the opinions of city and provincial residents, and then be decided by referendum.

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