With next year's local elections ahead, debate over "Daejeon–South Chungcheong integration" is heating up. After President Lee Jae-myung broached the subject, the Democratic Party of Korea began moving quickly. With the People Power Party holding the posts of Daejeon mayor, South Chungcheong governor, and North Chungcheong governor, some interpret the ruling camp's push for administrative integration as a card to retake the Chungcheong region in next year's local elections.
◇ at one word from President Lee, a special committee on integration… "special act passed in February, elections in June, integrated special city launched in July"
The Democratic Party of Korea's "Special Committee on the Integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong and the Development of the Chungcheong Region" held its first meeting at the National Assembly on the 24th. Supreme Council member Hwang Myung-seon, who chairs the standing committee, said, "The integrated special city will be fundamentally equipped with autonomy and fiscal decentralization powers on par with Seoul Metropolitan City and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province," adding, "The goal of the Lee Jae-myung administration is to create an integrated special city that combines the powers enjoyed by Seoul and the autonomous special provisions enjoyed by Jeju."
Party leader Jung Chung-rae attended the special committee meeting in person that day, saying, "The integration of South Chungcheong and Daejeon has already gone through several administrative procedures, so if the National Assembly passes the law, it could be possible in as little as a month. We will push it forward with speed."
The special committee even presented a concrete timeline, saying, "We will introduce the special integration bill at the end of January or early February, and complete its passage through the National Assembly in February." It then aims to elect the integrated local government head in the June 3 local elections next year and launch the integrated special city on July 1.
The Daejeon–South Chungcheong integration was originally an issue pushed by the People Power Party. Lee Jang-woo, the Daejeon mayor, and Kim Tae-heum, the South Chungcheong governor, both of the People Power Party, declared the launch of an "integrated local government" on Nov. 21, 2024, and in July this year announced a special act to establish the Daejeon–South Chungcheong Special City. The People Power Party also introduced this bill at the National Assembly on Oct. 2.
It was President Lee Jae-myung who reignited the previously quiet debate over integrating Daejeon and South Chungcheong. On the 18th, Lee invited Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers from Daejeon and South Chungcheong to the presidential office in Yongsan for a luncheon and said, "To solve overconcentration and promote balanced growth, integrating Daejeon and South Chungcheong can serve as a catalyst." He added, "So that voters can choose the head of the integrated local government in the upcoming local elections, the central government must provide practical and effective administrative support."
Less than a week after Lee's proposal, the Democratic Party of Korea created the special committee and even held its first meeting. In political circles, some said, "President Lee appears to be pushing the Daejeon–South Chungcheong integration in a blitz as a local election strategy."
The Democratic Party of Korea is treating the recapture of Daejeon and South Chungcheong in next year's local elections as a key task. Since the shift to the popularly elected system in 1995, the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party have been neck and neck in Daejeon–South Chungcheong local elections. In Daejeon, the Democratic Party of Korea has won twice and the People Power Party three times. In South Chungcheong, the Democratic Party of Korea has won three times and the People Power Party twice. The rest were won by the United Liberal Democrats and the Liberty Forward Party. Currently, both the Daejeon mayor and the South Chungcheong governor are from the People Power Party.
There are projections that it will realistically be difficult for the Democratic Party of Korea to retake Daejeon and South Chungcheong in next year's local elections. Former Governor Yang Seung-jo has entered the race for South Chungcheong governor from the Democratic Party of Korea. But polls show him trailing the incumbent governor, Kim Tae-heum. Likewise, in the Daejeon mayoral race, polls show the incumbent, Lee Jang-woo, ahead of the Democratic Party of Korea's potential candidates.
◇ speculation on Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik as candidate for the integrated local government head… People Power Party says "installing a local chief close to the president"
In the ruling camp, presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik is being mentioned as a candidate for special mayor of the integrated Daejeon–South Chungcheong. Kang, a three-term former lawmaker from Asan, South Chungcheong, has a strong base in the region. Recently, as chief of staff, Kang has coordinated the overall work of the Lee Jae-myung administration and built nationwide name recognition. There has also been talk of drafting Kang for the Seoul mayoral race.
The People Power Party is wary of this trend. On the day, People Power Party chief spokesperson Park Sung-hoon issued a commentary, saying, "The Democratic Party of Korea, having received President Lee Jae-myung's 'mission' to make presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik the inaugural head of the integrated Daejeon–South Chungcheong local government, is busy," and added, "Integration is not a means to install someone close to the president as the local government head."
Lee Jang-woo, the Daejeon mayor, and Kim Tae-heum, the South Chungcheong governor, both of the People Power Party, also held a sudden meeting that day. Aimed at the Democratic Party of Korea, the two said, "Those who had only opposed it have suddenly come forward saying they will make an integration bill, which can only be seen as an attempt to seize the leadership of the integration."