Chung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on Wednesday officially requested a one-on-one meeting with Chang Dong-hyuk, leader of the People Power Party, to advance the Chungnam-Daejeon Administrative Integration Special Bill.
"I propose an official meeting between party leaders for substantive progress on administrative integration to achieve the Chungnam-Daejeon merger," Chung said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly. "The integration discussion should not be opposed based on electoral gains or losses. It is time to complete the reorganization of the administrative system, which is a century-long national plan."
Chung said he would defer to Chang on the time and place of the meeting.
Chang's side responded cautiously, saying they would "review" the proposal. Rep. Park Jun-tae, Chang's chief of staff, told reporters, "We will examine whether this is a sincere proposal and determine our position."
The special bill aims to administratively integrate three regions—South Jeolla and Gwangju, North Gyeongsang and Daegu, and South Chungcheong and Daejeon—and grant them status equivalent to Seoul Metropolitan City. It includes various special provisions for the integrated special cities and up to 20 trillion won in financial support over four years. While all three bills await only a final plenary vote, the People Power Party has strongly opposed the Chungnam-Daejeon integration.
The Democratic Party plans to pass all three regional integration bills simultaneously. Supreme Council member Hwang Myung-sun urged cooperation from the People Power Party at a resolution rally for administrative integration, saying, "Despite the support provisions being essentially the same for all three regions, the People Power Party opposes only the Chungnam-Daejeon integration."
The People Power Party maintains there is no need to be drawn into integration discussions led by the government and ruling party, even though the initiative was originally proposed by local government heads from its own party. The party also cites strong local opposition in Daejeon as grounds for its stance. A public survey on administrative integration released by Daejeon City on Wednesday showed 41.5% opposed versus 33.7% in favor. The survey was conducted from the 20th to the 22nd among 2,153 adult residents of Daejeon.