3 Regions, 6 Jurisdictions at Once: How Korea's National Assembly Is Redesigning Local Elections with 'Administrative Integration 3 Laws'

Tonight, Korea's National Assembly Is Rewriting Local Autonomy History

At 10 PM on February 23, 2026, in the plenary chamber of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, three special bills for administrative integration were simultaneously tabled: Daegu-Gyeongbuk, Jeonnam-Gwangju, and Chungnam-Daejeon. If these bills pass the plenary session on the 24th, reorganizing six metropolitan governments into three integrated special cities, voters will directly elect 'integrated special city mayors' in the June 3 local elections.[1]

TL;DR

• National Assembly tabled three administrative integration bills at the Legislation Committee on 2/23 night, scheduled for plenary session processing on the 24th
• Three integrated special cities to be born: Daegu-Gyeongbuk (3.4M), Jeonnam-Gwangju (3.1M), Chungnam-Daejeon (3.5M)
• Core provisions include status equivalent to Seoul, fiscal privileges, and designation as regulatory free zones
• However, criticized as 'hollow integration' lacking fiscal and authority transfers from central to local government
• Chungnam-Daejeon faces last-minute difficulties due to ruling-opposition disagreements; Jung Cheong-rae proposes summit talks with Jang Dong-hyuk

Why Now, Why Three Regions Simultaneously?

Background of the Speed Battle: June Local Elections

The reason the Democratic Party is rushing administrative integration is clear. They must complete the integration before the June 3 local elections to hold integrated special city mayor elections. If bill processing is delayed, elections would be held for existing metropolitan governors, and integration would be postponed to the next term (2028).

Democratic Party leader Jung Cheong-rae proposed bilateral party leader talks to People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk at the Supreme Council meeting on 2/23, saying "Let's put our heads together first and have a serious conversation for balanced development of the Republic of Korea and our hometowns."[2] With only the Chungnam-Daejeon integration facing difficulties due to People Power Party opposition, he attempted last-minute negotiations.

Commonalities and Differences Among the Three Regions

The provisions of all three special laws are virtually identical. They grant integrated special cities status equivalent to Seoul Special City and stipulate the issuance of local bonds exceeding limits through integrated council resolutions, local tax reductions, establishment of balanced development funds, etc.[1]

The difference lies in region-specific industrial privileges. Daegu-Gyeongbuk supports nuclear power and small modular reactors (SMR), Jeonnam-Gwangju supports the shipbuilding industry, and Chungnam-Daejeon supports defense clusters.

The Rationale for Integration: "Competing with the Capital Region Through Economies of Scale"

Regional Extinction Crisis Theory

The starting point of administrative integration logic is the regional extinction crisis. As of 2025, Busan (population approx. 3.3M) was classified as the first metropolitan city at risk of extinction. The sense of crisis that individual metropolitan governments cannot respond to the capital region concentration phenomenon triggered integration discussions.[3]

Regulatory Free Zones and Fiscal Privileges

Article 2 of the special law designates integrated special cities as 'regulatory free zones'. It gives integrated mayors 'one-stop' authority to process dozens of permits at once, and stipulates national fiscal support and mandatory plan reflection obligations for various projects.[3]

The government promised fiscal support of up to ₩20 trillion over a maximum of 4 years upon integration. The logic is that increasing scale to attract large corporations and building ultra-wide-area transportation networks can prevent regional extinction.[4]

But Experts Are Skeptical

"Integration Missing the Core": Absence of Fiscal and Authority Transfers

The biggest controversy is that fiscal and authority transfers from central to local government are almost absent from the special law. The Lee Jae-myung administration stated in its 5-year national management plan that it would expand the national-to-local tax ratio to 7:3, but the current local allocation tax ratio is only 19.24%. The special law contains no provisions for expanding this ratio.[5]

Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice raised concerns that "fiscal and authority transfers should come before integration" and warned of "authority re-concentration and regional disparity concerns from ultra-wide-area integration."[4]

Replication of Megacity Failure?

Ohmynews cited an interview with Professor Park Bae-gyun of Seoul National University's Department of Geography, pointing out that "we should reconsider why Busan, which approached 4 million people, became the first metropolitan city at risk of extinction."[3]

Professor Park criticized that "the capital region gap is the result of large corporation and capital region-centered economic growth policies" and "the approach of increasing scale and attracting industries is identical to previous administrations' corporate cities, innovation cities, and megacity policies—the same 'growthism'."

Political Calculations: "Integrated City Mayor Equals Presidential Candidate"

Revival of Chungnam Great Expectations

Politically, the most sensitive region is Chungnam-Daejeon. If integration succeeds, with a population of 3.5 million exceeding Busan (3.3M), a powerful political base will be established in the Chungcheong region, a swing voter area.

An anonymous former Democratic Party official told Kyunghyang Shinmun, "Looking back at the case of former Chungnam Governor Ahn Hee-jung, he emerged as a presidential candidate simply because he served as Chungnam governor. If Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik is elected as the integrated city mayor, he immediately becomes a presidential candidate."[6]

For this reason, the People Power Party strongly opposes Chungnam-Daejeon integration. Leader Jang Dong-hyuk did not announce his position on Jung Cheong-rae's proposal for talks by the evening of the 23rd.

Redesigning the Local Election Landscape

Administrative integration is not simply a change of administrative districts. It's a political project that changes the very structure of the June local elections. Integrated special city mayor elections receive far more attention than metropolitan governor elections, and winners are immediately mentioned as next presidential candidates.

Busan-Gyeongnam postponed integration discussions to 2028, but in a 2/18 opinion poll, support for integration (53.6%) exceeded opposition (45.6%).[7] If the three regional integrations succeed, Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam is also likely to accelerate.

International Case: Lessons from France's Regional Reform

2016 France: 22 to 13

A frequently cited international case in Korean administrative integration discussions is France's 2016 regional reform. France integrated 22 regions into 13, streamlining overlapping functions between departments and regions and reducing administrative costs.[8]

However, the core of the French case is not "how many were reduced" but "why integrate localities while transferring central authority". This is why criticism emerges that Korea is rushing integration while postponing authority transfers.[9]

The 24th Plenary Session, and Remaining Questions

Fate of Chungnam-Daejeon

The three special laws that passed the Legislation Committee on the night of the 23rd will be put to a final vote at the plenary session at 2 PM on the 24th. While Daegu-Gyeongbuk and Jeonnam-Gwangju are certain to pass with bipartisan agreement, Chungnam-Daejeon remains a variable until the last minute.[10]

Where Are the Residents?

The resident opinion gathering process was actually insufficient. While the Busan-Gyeongnam Administrative Integration Public Deliberation Committee conducted regional forums and opinion polls, these three regional special laws rushed forward under National Assembly leadership. Critics point out that resident autonomy, the core of local decentralization, has gone missing.

The Real Questions: "Integration for What Purpose?"

• Can increasing scale really prevent regional extinction?
• Is integration meaningful if it only changes signboards without fiscal authority?
• Won't underdeveloped regions become more marginalized after integration?
• Is this regional development or expansion of politicians' power bases?

On the night of the 24th, the National Assembly plenary session will answer these questions.

Reference Links

• Hankyoreh | 'Administrative Integration 3 Laws' tabled at Legislation Committee plenary—Chungnam-Daejeon fails to narrow differences
• Kyunghyang Shinmun | 'Butterfly Effect' of Administrative Integration… Local Elections Landscape Expands
• Hankyoreh | Administrative Integration 'Missing the Core' Fiscal-Authority Transfer… Can Local Decentralization Be Realized?
• Ohmynews | A Metropolitan City Approaching 4 Million, How Did It… The Truth Integration Advocates Must Know
• Dong-A Ilbo | 53.6% Support Busan-Gyeongnam Administrative Integration… Public Sentiment Has Changed

Image Attribution

Due to the nature of the topic (restricted photography inside National Assembly chambers, copyright protection of administrative redistricting visual materials), this article focuses on text content. Official photos of National Assembly Legislation Committee plenary sessions are copyright-protected by press agencies such as Yonhap News, and access to administrative integration-related infographics from local governments and official government sources was restricted, so they could not be attached.