Daejeon Mayor Lee Jangwoo: "Officially Requests President to Hold Referendum on Administrative Integration"

"Ensuring democratic legitimacy and guaranteeing direct resident participation is more important than anything else"

67.8% of Daejeon citizens say a referendum is necessary

Administrative integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province...to be accepted according to the results of a referendum reflecting the will of the citizens

Lee Jangwoo, Mayor of Daejeon (Photo by Mo Seokbong)

On the morning of February 11, Daejeon Mayor Lee Jangwoo held a press conference and stated, "As the Mayor of Daejeon, I will honor the will of the city council, which represents the citizens of Daejeon, and the will of the citizens, and request that the Minister of the Interior and Safety and the President immediately hold a referendum on the administrative integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province pursuant to Article 8 of the Resident Voting Act," stressing that "I will never pursue integration that goes against the will of the citizens."

Mayor Lee said, "The bill on the integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province, which was proposed on the same day by the same Democratic Party, contained content that was vastly more discriminatory than the Gwangju–South Jeolla bill, delivering a great shock to the citizens of Daejeon," and criticized that "it is truly doubtful and deplorable whether the Democratic Party lawmakers from Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province have a philosophy of local decentralization or any will to represent the region."

He went on to warn, "In the current integration debate, the essence of local decentralization and regional equality has disappeared, and it has been degraded into a political tool and election strategy, with all attention focused solely on the election of the integrated mayor on June 3," adding, "If this situation continues to be pushed forward without sufficient preparation and deliberation, it will merely repeat the mistakes of the past 30 years, during which the central government unilaterally managed affairs."

This proposal for a referendum is the comprehensive result of reflecting citizens' opinions collected through the Daejeon City Council's adoption of the 'Resolution Calling for the Implementation of a Referendum on the Administrative Integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province' during an extraordinary session, as well as through town hall meetings.

Mayor Lee Jangwoo emphasized, "The administrative integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province is the starting point of a national overhaul to respond to the crisis of local extinction," adding, "Accordingly, ensuring democratic legitimacy and guaranteeing the direct participation of residents in the promotion process is more important than anything else."

The Daejeon city government has been pursuing administrative integration as a solution to break the Seoul metropolitan area-centered single-pole structure and realize genuine local decentralization. It has focused on integrating the existing compartmentalized administrative districts to achieve economies of scale and securing a high degree of autonomy that allows local governments to decide policies on their own through a substantial transfer of central government authority.

However, there are criticisms that the special bill currently under discussion in the National Assembly's legislative process falls short of expectations in key areas such as fiscal autonomy and the transfer of administrative authority, making it difficult to uphold the original purpose of integration, which is to secure substantive autonomy. In addition, concerns have been raised that, due to the tight National Assembly review schedule, there will not be sufficient time for resident deliberation and opinion gathering.

These concerns are also evident in local public opinion indicators. On the National Assembly's electronic petition platform, the agreement of about 18,000 citizens has been gathered on a petition calling for the implementation of a referendum, and the number of civil petitions submitted to the city council requesting communication has reached 1,536.

Furthermore, according to the results of a public opinion survey conducted by the Daejeon City Council in December last year, 67.8% of Daejeon citizens responded that a referendum is necessary, indicating strong demand for direct resident participation.

In response, the city plans to formally propose to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety the implementation of a referendum pursuant to Article 8 of the Resident Voting Act, while also submitting to the city council a 'Proposal for Hearing Opinions on Administrative Integration' in order to once again thoroughly verify public opinion on the changed legislative environment.

Mayor Lee said, "We must put the will of the citizens, who are the main agents of integration, above all else," and reiterated, "I hope the government will actively review institutional procedures that allow residents to participate directly."

The Daejeon city government plans to proceed with the relevant follow-up procedures according to the results of the review by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety in the future.

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