On the 12th, Chungcheongnam-do Gov. Kim Tae-heum said, "The National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee should immediately halt the hasty review of the special administrative integration bill and discuss common criteria for the target regions."
That morning, Kim held a press conference at the Chungcheongnam-do Provincial Office and said, "The review conducted at the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's bill review subcommittee on the 11th was carried out hastily, trampling the aspirations of the region," and stated accordingly.
Kim said, "This subcommittee review remains a rubber stamp following government instructions, with the philosophy and will for local autonomy missing," and added, "As the governor of Chungcheongnam-do, which is both the subject of integration and the object of legislation, I cannot accept the bill's review process."
He continued, "The Democratic Party of Korea, which had only opposed administrative integration, introduced in January a window-dressing bill without fiscal or authority transfers at a single word from President Lee Jae-myung, and is pushing it through in a rush like roasting beans over a lightning fire."
Kim also claimed that although he had communicated continuously with the Democratic Party of Korea, he was ignored for political reasons.
He said, "At the public hearing on the 9th, I was excluded without even obtaining the right to speak," and added, "During the bill review process, Rep. Kang Seung-kyu, a National Assembly member from the Chungcheongnam-do region, is even switching committees to try to reflect opinions, but is being dismissed by political logic."
Kim said, "It is also a problem that not a single Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker with a constituency in Daejeon or Chungcheongnam-do participated in the bill subcommittee's review process," adding, "As a result, the contents on fiscal transfers—such as the transfer of capital gains tax and local allocation tax—originally included in the Daejeon–Chungcheongnam-do integration bill proposed by the Democratic Party of Korea were completely removed, leaving only the declarative provision that 'the state shall endeavor to prepare financial support measures for the success of the integrated city.'"
Kim also said that a bipartisan special committee with equal representation should be formed at the National Assembly level to prepare common criteria. He again requested a meeting with President Lee Jae-myung.
Kim said, "If these demands are not accepted, I will leave all options on the table, including a major political decision with the residents of the province, and fight to the end."