Jeonnam Province Accelerates Preparations for Launch of Integrated Special City

Establishing Plans for Core Tasks Including Organization, Finance, and Personnel
Ordinance Enactment and Amendment Underway for 149 Delegated Items

Preparatory Meeting for the Launch of Jeonnam Gwangju Integrated Special City. Provided by Jeonnam Province.

Jeonnam Province is accelerating the process of preparing for integration across all areas of provincial administration in order to ensure the successful launch of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City, including expanding the working-level preparation team and establishing core tasks.

After the “Special Act on the Establishment of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City” passed the National Assembly on March 1, Jeonnam Province converted the Administrative Integration Promotion Group into the Working-Level Preparation Team. The team has been expanded to a structure of one bureau, two divisions, and five teams, serving as the control tower for working-level integration.

Jeonnam Province is analyzing previous cases of basic local government integration, such as Masan-Changwon-Jinhae and Cheongju-Cheongwon, while also consulting with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety’s Local Administration System Reform Support Group. Based on this, the province has established the “Administrative Integration Working-Level Preparation Plan,” which includes 18 key tasks, and has begun a comprehensive survey of basic data.

The core integration tasks include organization, finance, personnel, legal system, and IT systems. In the areas of organization and finance, Jeonnam and Gwangju will compare and analyze their current status, adjust for differences, and develop an integration plan.

For personnel, a Personnel Coordination Committee, chaired by the Deputy Governor (Vice Mayor) for Administrative Affairs, will be formed to establish a personnel management plan for the integrated special city.

In addition, Jeonnam and Gwangju’s approximately 2,600 local ordinances will undergo a comprehensive review and will be classified as subject to immediate implementation upon integration, temporary retention, or unification. A single legal framework will be established in stages. In particular, ordinances set for immediate implementation will go through prior consultations, and then be processed through the city council for approval and promulgation at the time of launch.

The province is also working to enact and amend ordinances to reflect 149 items delegated by the special act to local ordinances.

Thorough preparations are also underway for the improvement of IT systems that are closely linked to citizens’ daily lives. The plan includes the migration and integration of data for key systems such as the integrated special city’s official website, internal administrative approval system, intercity communication network, tourism platform, and the standard record management system, with the aim of minimizing administrative gaps and confusion in civil complaints.

Jeonnam Province is requesting, together with Gwangju City, that 50 billion won required for integration preparations be included in the government’s supplementary budget. On March 20, Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs Kang Wewon met with Han Byungdo, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Han Jeongae, the party’s policy chief, to request the inclusion of this budget.

Kang Hyoseok, Head of the Administrative Integration Working-Level Preparation Team of Jeonnam Province, stated, "Up to now, we have focused on basic data surveys and preparing implementation plans by sector. Going forward, we will work with Gwangju City to come up with a practical integration plan and ensure that public services continue seamlessly even after the launch."

Jeonnam Province plans to further accelerate the integration preparations by holding a joint workshop on March 25 with the Ministry of the Interior and Safety and Gwangju City for the launch of the integrated special city, a meeting to report on detailed implementation plans for integration tasks on March 26, and an academic seminar on administrative integration on March 27.

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