Daejeon City on the 11th formally asked the Ministry of the Interior and Safety to hold a referendum on pursuing administrative unification with South Chungcheong Province.
Mayor Lee Jang-woo of Daejeon said at a morning news conference that "for the Daejeon–South Chungcheong administrative unification, democratic legitimacy and guaranteeing residents' direct participation are more important than anything else," explaining the background for holding a referendum.
Earlier, the Daejeon City Council held the 293rd special session's second plenary meeting on the afternoon of the 10th and passed a "resolution urging the implementation of a referendum on the Daejeon–South Chungcheong administrative unification." Accordingly, Mayor Lee Jang-woo now has grounds to demand that the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS) hold a referendum.
The authority to decide whether to hold a referendum on provincial–metropolitan unification rests with the Minister of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS). Heads of metropolitan governments may request that a referendum be held.
Lee has argued that the special act on Daejeon–South Chungcheong unification proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea falls far short of the original bill proposed by the People Power Party. Lee also said that, compared with the special act on Gwangju–South Jeolla unification, Daejeon is being treated differently, and that a referendum should be held to hear the opinions of local residents.
Daejeon City said this is the result of comprehensively reflecting citizens' opinions gathered through the "resolution urging the implementation of a referendum on the Daejeon–South Chungcheong administrative unification" adopted at the Daejeon City Council's special session and through town hall meetings.
Lee said, "We must put the will of citizens, the main actors in unification, first and foremost," adding, "We hope the government will actively review institutional procedures that allow residents to participate directly."
Daejeon City plans to proceed with related follow-up procedures based on the Ministry of the Interior and Safety (MOIS)'s forthcoming review.