Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho and North Gyeongsang Governor Lee Cheol-woo met on the 29th for the first time since the launch of the ninth popularly elected term and discussed joint regional pending issues.
On this afternoon, the two met at the North Gyeongsang Provincial Government and agreed to communicate and cooperate to resolve major joint pending issues, including construction of the Daegu-North Gyeongsang new airport, administrative integration, and the second round of public institution transfer.
First, the two sides exchanged views on promoting the Daegu-North Gyeongsang new airport project and agreed to work together to open it on schedule. To that end, they will gather broad input from experts, local National Assembly members, and related agencies, continue working-level consultations, and meet again as soon as possible to discuss concrete implementation plans.
In addition, regarding administrative integration, they reaffirmed their determination to pass the integration bill pending in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee no later than this regular session, elect a unified head in the 2028 general election, and launch the unified special city. Before the regular session, they agreed to hold a "Daegu-North Gyeongsang administrative integration joint meeting" with all Daegu-North Gyeongsang National Assembly members and the city and provincial governors participating, to deliver the region's voice to the National Assembly.
Furthermore, the two sides agreed that a second round of public institution transfer is necessary as a key to overcoming the Seoul metropolitan area's single-core structure and the crisis of local extinction. Accordingly, they reached a consensus that Daegu and North Gyeongsang should be granted a status equivalent to a unified special city in the government's process of transferring public institutions. They plan to stress that the government has expressed its position to prioritize transferring public institutions to the unified special city, that the two jurisdictions have been the first to push administrative integration, and that their will to integrate is firm.
Mayor Choo said, "There are more tasks than ever that Daegu and North Gyeongsang must solve together," adding, "We will work closely with North Gyeongsang and also secure cooperation from the government and the National Assembly to deliver tangible results that citizens can feel."
Governor Lee said, "Daegu and North Gyeongsang share the same roots, and we can secure greater competitiveness when we work together," adding, "We will do our best to ensure that the aspirations of city and provincial residents, such as the new airport and administrative integration, can be realized as soon as possible."