Jeollanam-do Council Backs Administrative Integration Opinion, Sets Out 12 Conditions

Demand to Specify the Location of Government Complexes in the Integrated Special Act

The Jeollanam-do Provincial Council has officially finalized the '12 Priority Prerequisites' for the administrative integration of Jeollanam-do and Gwangju and decided to submit to the National Assembly its key demands, including specifying the location of the integrated government complex and establishing a new national medical school.

On the 4th, the Jeollanam-do Provincial Council held a general assembly of assembly members and a plenary session in succession and passed, in favor, the 'Opinion on the Administrative Integration of Jeollanam-do and Gwangju Metropolitan City'. Through this resolution, the council made it clear that the administrative integration is not merely a merger of administrative districts, but a process of laying the institutional foundation for the post-integration power structure and balanced regional development.

Exterior view of Jeollanam-do Provincial Council

This opinion document is the result of collecting views from the executive branch, city and county councils, and residents of the province, centered on the 'Administrative Integration Response Task Force (TF)' led by Chairman Kim Taekyun. The finalized opinion contains 12 items that must be reflected in the 'Special Act on the Establishment of the Integrated Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City', which is currently under deliberation at the National Assembly.

The main points include a formal definition of the name of the integrated special city; stipulating in the special act the locations of the main government complex and the council building; the establishment of an integrated national medical school; and the union-type integration of Mokpo National University and Sunchon National University and their designation as a regional base national university. A large number of sensitive local issues have been included.

In addition, the demands include measures such as strengthening local legislative authority; establishing plans for balanced regional development and sector-specific industrial development; clarifying standards for support from national taxes, including integrated special support funds; conducting confirmation hearings for political deputy mayors and the chairperson of the audit committee; maintaining the current number of provincial council members; introducing special provisions for region-restricted bidding; and creating an agricultural and rural development fund, in order to expand local autonomy powers and protect agricultural and fishing communities.

An official of the provincial council said, "This opinion document is a critical matter that will determine the future structure of the region," and stressed, "The council's demands must serve as a key criterion in the National Assembly and government's deliberation on the special act."

The Jeollanam-do Provincial Council plans to visit the National Assembly on the 5th to personally deliver the opinion document containing these points to Shin Jung-hoon, Chairperson of the Public Administration and Security Committee, and to actively lobby so that the council's position can be fully reflected in the deliberation process on the special act.

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