Sejong Mayor Choi Min-ho Elected as Second Chair of Chungcheong Regional Union

Sejong Mayor Choi Min-ho was elected as the second chair of the Chungcheong Regional Union on Friday.

The city of Sejong announced that Mayor Choi was confirmed as the next union chair at the first plenary session of the 7th Chungcheong Regional Union Council regular meeting.

The Chungcheong Regional Union, launched on December 18, 2024 as Korea's first special local government entity, currently operates with approximately 60 staff members across two secretariats. The union council consists of 16 members, with four representatives each from Daejeon, Sejong, North Chungcheong Province and South Chungcheong Province.

Succeeding North Chungcheong Governor Kim Young-hwan as the first chair, Mayor Choi will serve as the second union chair from December 31, 2025 to June 30, 2026.

As the role and necessity of regional administration grows in line with the government's "5 Poles, 3 Special Zones" national balanced development strategy, the Chungcheong region plans to cooperate as a single unit to establish a substantive balanced development framework.

Key priorities include expanding the regional union's stable financial base, strengthening local autonomy through delegation of central government authority, and enhancing implementation of mega-regional cooperation projects.

"The Chungcheong Regional Union was established to create a new axis of national balanced development," Mayor Choi said. "We will consolidate the capabilities of the four Chungcheong provinces and cities and further strengthen mega-regional cooperation so that the Chungcheong region can reinforce its growth potential and develop into a core axis of national development."