President Lee Jae-myung on the 2nd raised the possibility of an administrative merger between Gwangju Metropolitan City and South Jeolla Province, saying, "The integration of metropolitan governments, which did not seem easy, is gaining momentum little by little." On X (formerly Twitter) that day, Lee posted an entry titled "After Daejeon and South Chungcheong, Gwangju and South Jeolla too?" and wrote as above. Aside from releasing the New Year's address and schedule video, it was the first political agenda of the new year posted on social media.
Lee said, "Public opinion appears to be coalescing around the need to overcome the Seoul metropolitan area's single-pole structure and open a new path of 'region-led growth,'" adding, "What do you think?" He also shared a report that South Jeolla Gov. Kim Yung-rok and Gwangju Mayor Kang Gi-jung formed an "administrative integration task force" and began full-fledged discussions.
Earlier, on the 18th, Lee invited Democratic Party lawmakers from Daejeon and South Chungcheong districts to the presidential office for lunch and proposed promoting "integration of the Daejeon and South Chungcheong districts" as an alternative to resolve overcrowding in the Seoul metropolitan area. At the time, Lee said, "While integration of local governments is not easy, policy decisions that transcend complex political interests are needed," adding, "In that it will steer the future of Korea, we should consider 'integration' as a historic matter and an alternative to the overcrowding problem in the metropolitan area."
The idea is to administratively merge the two regions, grant the maximum possible fiscal and autonomous powers, and additionally review the transfer of public institutions. In particular, the administration was asked to provide support so that in the local elections next June, a head of a local government representing the merged regions could be elected. In response, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea decided to accelerate legislation so that in the local elections this June, a "merged chief executive" combining the Daejeon mayor and the South Chungcheong governor can be elected.