Outline of Special Act for Daejeon Chungnam Special City... Vision for Creating an Economic and Science Capital

Composed of 7 Parts, 17 Chapters, 18 Sections, 294 Articles, and Supplementary Provisions
Abolition of Daejeon City and Chungnam Province, All Cities, Counties, and Districts Retained
Utilization of Daejeon and Chungnam Government Buildings... 255 Delegations of Authority and Special Provisions

Changgi Lee, Co-Chair of the Public-Private Cooperation Committee, is holding a briefing at Daejeon City Hall on the afternoon of the 10th / Daejeon - Photo by Jongmyung Park

The draft of the special administrative integration law for Daejeon and Chungnam, aimed at establishing the Republic of Korea’s economic and science capital, has taken shape.

The Daejeon-Chungnam Administrative Integration Public-Private Council held its third meeting on the 10th in the main conference room of Daejeon City Hall, where it reported on the progress of drafting the special law and discussed promotional plans and other opinions.

After jointly declaring the administrative integration of Daejeon and Chungnam in November last year, the council reviewed the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integration Bill, legislative cases of special autonomous cities and provinces, and bills currently pending in the National Assembly to draft an independent legislative proposal.

The provisional name of the special law is “(Tentative) Special Act on the Establishment of Daejeon-Chungnam Special City and the Creation of an Economic and Science Capital,” which consists of 7 parts, 17 chapters, 18 sections, 294 articles, and supplementary provisions.

The basic direction of the administrative integration is to abolish Daejeon City and Chungnam Province as administrative units while retaining all basic local governments (cities, counties, and districts). The plan also stipulates that the new integrated government will continue to use the existing government buildings of Daejeon and Chungnam.

The bill includes the vision of creating Daejeon-Chungnam Special City as Korea’s economic and science capital, the establishment of future strategic industries, 12 tasks for realizing the happiness of special citizens, and a total of 255 delegations of authority and special provisions.

The special city will establish a support committee under the Prime Minister’s Office to gradually transfer the authority of central administrative agencies. It will also receive support for transferring special local administrative agencies focused on areas closely related to residents’ lives, such as environment, small and medium enterprises, employment and labor, and veterans affairs.

To align the economic and living spheres of the central city and neighboring cities and counties, a metropolitan living zone will be designated and operated, aiming to reduce administrative costs for building road networks and public facilities such as hospitals.

The bill also includes special provisions for securing finances to ensure the successful settlement and achievement of the special city’s objectives.

A portion of the real estate capital gains tax collected in the special city will be allocated locally, and part of the corporate tax and value-added tax can also be transferred.

To account for increased budget needs due to the transfer of administrative functions and integration costs, additional general grant funds will be secured, and a special account for balanced regional development can be established. A balanced development fund to address disparities among cities, counties, and districts within the special city will also be created and operated, with the estimated additional annual budget totaling 3.3693 trillion won.

The organization of the special city will be elevated to a level comparable to Seoul Special City, allowing for higher administrative ranks. When appointing the chief of police, the consent of the special city mayor will be required, and a running mate system for the special city mayor and superintendent of education will be introduced to strengthen the linkage between general administration and educational autonomy.

To prevent disadvantages for general, educational, and firefighting public officials in personnel management, those appointed before integration will, in principle, continue to work within the jurisdictions of Daejeon and Chungnam. For development projects approved by the special city mayor’s master plan, a total of 44 permits, including those under the Building Act, will be deemed granted, greatly simplifying development procedures.

Companies investing in or moving into the Daejeon-Chungnam Advanced Science and Technology Complex and development project zones will receive tax reductions on corporate tax, income tax, and more. In investment promotion zones, companies will be allowed to lease state or public property for up to 30 years.

Companies with annual sales exceeding 500 billion won that relocate to the special city will be eligible for special business succession tax deductions. The support ratios for local investment promotion subsidies and domestic reshoring investment subsidies will be raised by 5 percentage points over the current rates.

A science and technology development fund will be established to promote R&D, and the special city’s opinions will be reflected in setting floor area ratios, building coverage ratios, and building heights within R&D special zones.

To facilitate the transition to a carbon-neutral society, the special city will be granted the authority to designate areas where coal-fired power plants are decommissioned as special just transition zones and to establish a fund with government support.

The authority to lift development restrictions on areas of 1 million square meters or more will also be transferred to the special city mayor. The establishment and modification of plans for development-restricted zones will be delegated to the local urban planning committee.

The authority to review spatial restructuring plans decided by the special city mayor will be transferred from the central urban planning committee to the local urban planning committee, and standards for building coverage, floor area ratio, and height will be relaxed to allow more efficient urban space management.

The ratio of national subsidies for the construction and improvement of metropolitan roads, congested roads, and metropolitan railways will also be increased, with the national support ratio for metropolitan roads raised from 50% to 70%, 70% of total project costs for congested roads, and the full project cost for metropolitan railways covered by the national government.

In addition, when establishing or changing social security systems, the special city will be able to proceed independently without consultation with the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

The special city mayor will designate and operate future care zones for all generations, including infants, children, people with disabilities, and the elderly, and ensure the continuity of existing care programs.

Going forward, the public-private council plans to gather feedback from stakeholders such as politicians, businesspeople, scientists, farmers, and related organizations to improve the completeness of the bill before proposing it to both local governments.

They also plan to cooperate with the cities and provinces to hold briefings for the National Assembly, regional explanatory sessions, meetings with related organizations, forums, and promotional activities through the media and new media.

Lee Changki and Jung Jaekeun, co-chairs of the public-private council, emphasized, “Daejeon-Chungnam Special City will become the center of Korea’s economy and science by combining Daejeon’s advanced science and technology capabilities with Chungnam’s industrial infrastructure.”

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