Local governments in Korea are aggressively advancing megacity initiatives to tackle the centralization of the metropolitan area, particularly Seoul, and to promote balanced regional development.
While experts agree that ongoing discussions are crucial to addressing centralization in the country, they pointed out that local governments’ plans still face significant practical challenges.
Local governments are accelerating their efforts to implement megacity plans, with Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province recently signing an agreement to integrate their administrative systems by 2026.
The initiative aims to enhance the competitiveness of provinces and cities facing demographic and financial decline. By increasing population and economic resources, local governments argue that metropolitan-level administrative integration can prevent overlapping projects and improve resource allocation efficiency through strategic selection and concentration.
On June 4, a roadmap was unveiled for the initiation of a special act for the integration of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province within this year, aiming to launch an integrated local government by July 1, 2026.
Discussion over the integration initiative began last month with a proposal from Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo.
Hong outlined the suggestion and plan via Facebook on April 20, advocating for a new administrative system for the merged region 카지노사이트 that would be directed by the prime minister’s office, similar to the Seoul Metropolitan Government (SMG), and not controlled by the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.
Currently, 16 local governments are overseen by both the interior ministry and the prime minister’s office, with the SMG being the sole exception, operating independently of the interior ministry.
In response, the government has pledged to establish a task force to support the integration and consider providing both direct and indirect costs, along with granting special administrative and financial measures.
The goal is to make the integration of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province a model for administrative system reform.