South Korea's ruling People Power Party (PPP) will hold a vote among lawmakers to determine its official position on the proposed administrative integration of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province, following internal disputes over the issue.
According to a PPP official on the 25th, the party's floor leadership will meet with lawmakers representing the Daegu-Gyeongbuk (TK) region at 10 a.m. on the 26th at the National Assembly to gather opinions on the merger. The party plans to conduct a vote on the integration proposal at the meeting to reach a definitive stance.
The PPP has recently experienced heated exchanges over the Daegu-Gyeongbuk integration issue. At a general meeting of lawmakers held on the 24th, some Daegu legislators including National Assembly Vice Speaker Joo Ho-young raised suspicions that PPP Floor Leader Song Eon-seok, whose constituency is in North Gyeongsang Province, may have played a role in blocking the merger, sparking a back-and-forth debate.
The party held general meetings on the 23rd and 24th to discuss the administrative integration but failed to reach a conclusion. While the party settled on opposing the South Chungcheong-Daejeon merger, lawmakers remained divided on the Daegu-Gyeongbuk integration.
The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee was scheduled to process special integration bills for three regions—South Jeolla-Gwangju, Daegu-Gyeongbuk, and South Chungcheong-Daejeon—on the 24th, but only passed the South Jeolla-Gwangju administrative integration bill, citing regional opposition to the other proposals.