Launch of Chungcheong Metropolitan Alliance...Nation's First 'Special Local Government'

Daejeon, Sejong, Chungbuk, and Chungnam 4 Cities and Provinces Formed
First Launch Since System Established in 2022
Performing Wide-Area Tasks Including Ultra-Wide Transportation Network

The 'Chungcheong Metropolitan Union,' the nation's first special local government organization formed by four cities and provinces in the Chungcheong region, is set to officially launch.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety on the 17th, the Chungcheong Metropolitan Union, composed of Daejeon, Sejong, Chungbuk, and Chungnam, will hold its inauguration ceremony on the 18th at the Government Sejong Convention Center. The ceremony will be attended by the heads of the four Chungcheong local governments, chairpersons of the councils, members of the union council, resident participation groups, as well as related ministries such as the Local Government Transition Committee, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Prior to the inauguration ceremony, the first extraordinary meeting of the Chungcheong Metropolitan Union council will be held on the same day to elect the inaugural union chief and the chairperson of the union council. The union chief will serve a one-year term, and the chairperson of the union council will serve a two-year term.

The Chungcheong Metropolitan Union will undertake metropolitan-level tasks that are difficult to address within a single city or province, such as building super-regional transportation networks including roads and railways, and implementing metropolitan bus rapid transit (BRT) systems. The union and the union council secretariat will be staffed by 60 public officials dispatched from the four local governments.

A special local government is an entity established jointly by two or more local governments for a specific purpose. Earlier in May, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety approved the regulations for the Chungcheong Metropolitan Union. Since then, aiming for a launch within the year, preparations such as enacting ordinances and rules, negotiating and organizing the structure, and setting up offices have been underway, marking the first step as the nation's inaugural special local government. After the law on special local governments came into effect in January 2022, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam pursued special local governments, but their regulations were abolished before launch.

The Chungcheong Metropolitan Union is expected to strengthen the competitiveness of the region by uniting the Chungcheong area, which has a gross regional product of approximately 290 trillion won, into a metropolitan living economic zone, creating super-regional transportation networks that transcend city and provincial boundaries, and jointly utilizing each area's industrial base to secure the industrial capacity of the entire region.

The Ministry of the Interior and Safety has been providing tailored consulting services since last year to hopeful regions to promote the special local government system. This year, the scope has been expanded to include 'local government unions.' A local government union is a corporate entity established by two or more local governments for joint administrative tasks and, unlike special local governments, does not have a chief or council. This year, consulting is being provided to four regions: the Chungcheong and Saemangeum areas as special local governments, and the Chungbuk Innovation City and Chungnam Innovation City as local government unions.

Ko Gi-dong, Acting Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, stated, "The Chungcheong Metropolitan Union is a pioneering model of a new form of local administrative system led by the region and supported by the government for balanced development. Even after its launch, we will closely consult with the four cities and provinces of the Chungcheong region and spare no support to ensure smooth operation."

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