The Gwangju Metropolitan Council and South Jeolla Provincial Council are pursuing divergent paths as the launch of the unified Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City approaches.
Controversy is mounting as both councils push ahead with assembly hall renovations costing hundreds of millions of won, even though the location of the main government building—and consequently the unified assembly—remains undecided.
With concerns that civil servants may become collateral damage depending on how the situation unfolds, observers say the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, as the supervisory authority, urgently needs to establish guidelines.
According to both councils on Wednesday, lawmakers elected in the June 3 local elections will hold an interim session of the unified assembly on July 1 to form the leadership. Currently, South Jeolla Province has 61 council members and Gwangju has 23, totaling 84 seats.
In an ironic twist, both councils have begun building infrastructure for the unified assembly—each for their own facilities.
The Gwangju Metropolitan Council has reportedly requested 4.3 billion won ($3.1 million) in supplementary budget funding from the city government, planning to complete renovations before the special city launches.
The South Jeolla Provincial Council had earlier allocated 1.5 billion won in this year's budget for renovating public amenities and the main assembly hall before the merger push began. The provincial council also started construction on an administrative building extension in June last year, but remodeling of the existing building has reportedly been suspended under an agreement with the Gwangju council.
The location of the unified assembly will be decided by newly elected members at a plenary session in July. Once determined, one side's renovation spending will prove unnecessary.
This represents a clear case of wasteful spending of taxpayer money.
Adding to the uncertainty, the National Assembly's Special Committee on Political Reform is pursuing adjustments to the unified council's seat allocation, meaning the total number of seats remains undetermined. Critics suggest both councils may already be engaged in political maneuvering.
"Since the Ministry of the Interior and Safety has established a task force for the merger and has already issued guidelines to both governments on matters such as civil servant personnel affairs, it should prioritize establishing regulations on these unnecessary renovations that are now causing controversy," a local political source said.
