On the 25th, the heads of Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province, who are pushing for an administrative merger, said the ruling and opposition parties should form a special committee in the National Assembly to discuss the issue. They spoke after special bills related to the two regions' administrative merger were put on hold in review and faced being scrapped.
Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo held a press conference at Daejeon City Hall that day and said, "If the ruling and opposition parties set up a special committee and fully discuss this in the National Assembly, it is sufficient to reach a conclusion either in the next general election or the next presidential election."
South Chungcheong Province Gov. Kim Tae-heum also held a press conference at the provincial government office the same day and said, "Even now, I propose forming a bipartisan special committee on integration within the National Assembly," adding, "This body should conduct sufficient discussions, draft a substantive integration bill, and decide on the timing and method of implementation."
The two heads also pushed back on President Lee Jae-myung's remarks posted on X (formerly Twitter) on the 24th after The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee put the Daejeon–South Chungcheong administrative integration bill on hold. President Lee wrote, "The government's position is not to overreach in the face of opposition from the opposition party and the provincial and city councils."
On this, Mayor Lee said, "Contrary to what the president said, we have never opposed administrative integration," adding, "We opposed the shoddy bill submitted by the Democratic Party."
Gov. Kim also said, "President Lee Jae-myung speaks as if the bill's hold is the fault of the provincial and city councils, which is nothing but 'out-of-body rhetoric' and 'irresponsible blame-shifting,'" adding, "The empty-shell bill should be scrapped and the integration law drafted anew."