Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo held a press conference on the 5th and stated, "Integration debates are intensifying nationwide, and we need to create an integration law that applies equally across the country." He added, "If we create different laws for different regions, discrimination controversies will inevitably arise."
Mayor Lee emphasized, "The National Assembly, as the representative body of the people, must stop political disputes and form a 'bipartisan special committee' to create proper legislation through in-depth discussions." He continued, "For genuine administrative system reform to overhaul the Republic of Korea, legislation guaranteeing local decentralization must first be prepared, followed by mandatory consultation with provincial and city residents who are the subjects of administrative integration."
The mayor added, "For this purpose, legitimacy must be granted through sufficient prior explanation and referendums for residents and various civic groups."
He stated, "The Prime Minister's remark about 'providing 20 trillion won in incentives' left only hollow echoes, as there was no discussion between provincial governments and the central government during the legislative process, and even the special bill did not specify concrete details on financing or distribution." He emphasized, "The Democratic Party's fiscal decentralization proposal was opaque, temporary, and subordinate to an extent that our citizens absolutely cannot accept."
Mayor Lee pointed out, "Article 54 of the Democratic Party-led special bill ignored the funding plan that is fundamental to administrative integration with just one clause stating 'the state may provide administrative and financial support necessary for the successful establishment and operation of the integrated special city.'" He added, "They deleted the provisions for transferring national taxes such as capital gains tax and corporate tax for permanent revenue sources, which were mentioned in Daejeon's original Daejeon-Chungnam special bill."
Nevertheless, the mayor stated, "The Democratic Party continues its despicable political offensive, shifting responsibility for the collapse of administrative integration to me and the People Power Party while engaging only in negative propaganda such as 'they kicked away 20 trillion won' and 'they were excluded from innovation cities,' inciting citizens." He denounced, "They have tarnished the true meaning of Daejeon-Chungnam administrative integration through political calculations based on partisan interests and flip-flopping positions."
