Jung Chung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea proposed an official meeting to Jang Dong-hyeok of the People Power Party to handle the special act on administrative integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong.
At the supreme council meeting on the morning of the 23rd, Jung said, "Administrative integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong is not something to oppose based on electoral advantage or disadvantage," and added, "I propose an official meeting between the two party leaders for substantive progress on administrative integration."
Jung said, "Administrative integration is a crucial task in designing Korea's future structure," and added, "If the political sphere fails to present a clear direction ahead of the launch of a new self-governing system, confusion on the ground will grow and it will be difficult to gain public consensus."
Jung continued, "Both Jang and I are from South Chungcheong," and added, "For balanced development of Korea and development of our hometown, let the two of us first put our heads together and have a serious conversation."
That day, The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a full meeting ahead of handling the special act on regional administrative integration. There is no disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties on administrative integration of Gwangju–South Jeolla and Daegu–North Gyeongsang, but multiple differences have emerged over Daejeon–South Chungcheong administrative integration, making its passage uncertain. The People Power Party has come out against it, and there is talk within the ruling Democratic Party that it is lukewarm about handling it.
On the same day, the Democratic Party's special committee on Chungcheong held a press conference on the steps in front of the main building of the National Assembly and called for passage of the special act on administrative integration of Daejeon and South Chungcheong.