Lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties sharply criticized the government's passive approach to the administrative integration special bill at a National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee legislative hearing on Thursday.
They pointed out that despite initial pledges to accelerate integration through generous support, a significant number of special provision clauses had been deleted from the bill, warning it could become "an integration law in name only."
The committee held the hearing at the National Assembly to gather opinions from various sectors on the effectiveness of the administrative integration special bill and the delegation of central government authority. Metropolitan mayors including Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo, Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jeong, and Acting Daegu Mayor Kim Jeong-gi attended the hearing.
Participants broadly agreed that administrative integration is necessary to address regional population decline. However, they criticized the government's stance, noting that key special provisions had been substantially reduced during the government's review process.
Rep. Shin Jeong-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea, chairman of the committee, said, "Administrative integration is about redesigning the level of local decentralization, but the government's attitude remains at the level of simply merging two into one. We cannot agree to an integration law that is only nominal."
Rep. Park Su-min of the People Power Party also stated, "The President and Prime Minister came forward saying they would promote administrative integration, but now the central government says it cannot grant over 110 core provisions. They should open a path that allows metropolitan mayors to pursue this if they wish."
The mayors also took issue with the government's stance. Mayor Kang said, "I was shocked to hear from the government that about 110 of the 386 special provision clauses were rejected."
Acting Mayor Kim noted, "A significant number of clauses on authority delegation have been changed to discretionary provisions."
Meanwhile, South Chungcheong Province Governor Kim Tae-heum, who was denied participation and speaking rights at the hearing, held a press conference at the National Assembly calling for a halt to administrative integration discussions and requesting a meeting with President Lee Jae-myung.