Mi Ae Lim: "Administrative Integration Is Not Just About Redrawing Maps... Governance and Electoral Reform Must Go Hand in Hand"

The Lesson from the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Failure: "Consensus Structure"
Checks and Balances Must Come First in Integrated Metropolitan Governments

Assemblywoman Mi Ae Lim of the Democratic Party of Korea emphasized that, as discussions on administrative integration at the metropolitan level are spreading nationwide, the success or failure of such integration depends not on the adjustment of administrative boundaries, but on how effectively the establishment of governance structures and improvements to the local election system are designed in tandem.

Mi Ae Lim, Chairperson of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea

On the 24th, Assemblywoman Lim released a statement, saying, "As discussions on administrative integration in regions such as Daejeon-Chungnam and Gwangju-Jeonnam become more active, the government's proposal of bold incentives for metropolitan local governments pursuing integration demonstrates a strong commitment to balanced national development," adding, "We welcome this initiative."

She stated, "Administrative integration at the metropolitan level is a powerful policy tool to ease the concentration of the Seoul metropolitan area and promote balanced national development. However, to maximize the effects of integration, discussions on necessary institutional improvements must proceed alongside central government incentives, and should not be delayed any further."

◆ "Why did the Daegu-Gyeongbuk integration talks fail? Consensus, coordination, and trust all faltered"

Assemblywoman Lim cited the previous failure of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk administrative integration initiative as a lesson to be learned. She assessed, "Administrative integration is not simply a matter of adjusting administrative boundaries, but rather of transforming the distribution of regional authority and finances, as well as the structures of representation and participation for residents."

She continued, "Despite efforts to foster public debate on the Daegu-Gyeongbuk integration, the lack of consensus among city and provincial residents, concerns over the reduction of authority for cities, counties, and districts, and the failure to coordinate conflicting interests all accumulated and weakened the momentum for the initiative. Furthermore, the unilateral push and subsequent halt announced by former Daegu Mayor Hong Joonpyo significantly undermined public trust."

She emphasized, "The lesson we have learned is clear: integration is difficult to achieve without a consensus-based structure grounded in trust, and if a large-scale integrated local government is created without checks and balances, the negative side effects may be even greater."

◆ Mi Ae Lim: "What matters more than the 'speed' of integration is its 'design'... Institutional improvements must be pursued in parallel"

Assemblywoman Lim stated that at least three key tasks must be pursued simultaneously to achieve proper administrative integration.

First, the establishment of social consensus and governance. She said, "A structure must be created in which cities, counties, districts, residents, experts, and stakeholders transparently share issues, engage in deliberation and coordination, and ensure that agreed-upon matters are reflected in the actual implementation process."

Second, she called for strengthening representation and oversight functions by improving the local election system. She explained, "As integration increases the authority and scale of local governments, diversity and competition within local councils must be ensured. Therefore, discussions on improving the election system must proceed in parallel."

Third, she proposed the implementation of pilot projects to diversify the organizational structure of local governments. Assemblywoman Lim stressed, "Institutional experiments that test and verify the distribution of authority and internal balancing mechanisms tailored to local conditions must be conducted first."

◆ "The purpose of integration is not to simply 'scale up'... A democratic operational structure must be the foundation"

Assemblywoman Lim stated, "The purpose of administrative integration is not merely to increase the size of local governments. Only when a democratic operational structure that harmonizes diverse voices and seeks better alternatives is in place, can integration truly become 'the future of the region.'"

She added, "While the Democratic Party in Gyeongbuk will actively pursue administrative integration, we will also work responsibly with the government to ensure that procedures based on social consensus, safeguards for balanced development, and strengthened checks and representation are incorporated into the design of future discussions."

Administrative integration is not simply a matter of drawing lines on an 'administrative map,' but rather of redesigning the structure of regional power. For integration to succeed, mechanisms for trust and balance must be established before any expansion of scale. The moment governance and electoral system reforms are relegated to secondary tasks, the discussion on integration will once again devolve into a race for speed.

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