Among the administrative integration special bills considered a key variable in the June 3 local elections, only the Jeonnam-Gwangju integration bill was sent to the National Assembly plenary session. Special bills to integrate Daegu-North Gyeongsang Province and South Chungcheong Province-Daejeon failed to clear the Legislation and Judiciary Committee amid intense confrontation between ruling and opposition parties, now facing collapse. The People Power Party protested what it called "preferential treatment for Honam," while the Democratic Party of Korea countered it was "obstruction to preserve seats," escalating mutual blame.
The Jeonnam-Gwangju Administrative Integration Special Bill, passed by the ruling party-led Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 24th, was submitted to the National Assembly plenary session. If the integration bill passes the plenary, voters in the Jeonnam-Gwangju region will elect a unified special city mayor, metropolitan council members, and superintendent of education in the upcoming local elections.
The Democratic Party originally planned to send all three special bills integrating Jeonnam-Gwangju, Daegu-North Gyeongsang, and South Chungcheong-Daejeon to the plenary for processing. However, when the People Power Party strongly opposed the South Chungcheong-Daejeon integration bill citing local opposition, the committee also deferred processing of the Daegu-North Gyeongsang integration bill for the same reason.
National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Choo Mi-ae said, "How about first integrating Jeonnam-Gwangju, where there is no opposition from residents, then supplementing and proceeding sequentially later?" Only the Jeonnam-Gwangju integration bill was put to a vote. The People Power Party abstained without participating in the vote.
When the ruling party blocked integration bills for regions with People Power Party heads, the opposition strongly protested. People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyung-won, a member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said, "The administrative integration law was originally intended only for Gwangju-Jeonnam. This is a law the Democratic Party created to shower budget bombs on Honam, their base of power."
The Democratic Party countered that "political calculations are blocking integration discussions." Democratic Party Floor Operations Senior Deputy Representative Cheon Jun-ho pointed out, "Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo and South Chungcheong Governor Kim Tae-heum advocated for South Chungcheong-Daejeon integration before the change in government, but reversed their positions like flipping a palm ahead of the local elections."
While the Democratic Party left open the possibility of renewed discussions until March 3, when the February extraordinary session ends, observers say there is little room for negotiation. The People Power Party strongly opposes the South Chungcheong-Daejeon integration bill and has launched a filibuster on all items submitted to the plenary.
Meanwhile, President Lee Jae-myung posted on social media with the title "The opposition and South Chungcheong-Daejeon city and provincial councils oppose integration." President Lee stated, "The government's position was not to force this against opposition from the opposition party and city and provincial councils. Even if not 100%, at least the relevant regions must generally agree and the political establishment must largely consent for integration to proceed. I hope there is no misunderstanding."