Why Daejeon’s Call for a New Administrative Integration Law Could Change Local Governance Forever

The Daejeon Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) called on February 10th for the repeal of special laws that promote competitive advantages in administrative integration. Instead, they urged the establishment of a ‘(tentative) Basic Law for Administrative Integration.’

The coalition’s analysis of the proposed special administrative integration bills in the National Assembly revealed that out of 1,035 clauses across three bills, 869 (83.96%) were related to preferential treatment, financial advantages, authority transfers, and regulatory relaxation. Jeonnam-Gwangju and Daegu-Gyeongbuk regions had the highest proportion of preferential clauses at over 85%, while Chungnam-Daejeon approached 80%.

Breaking down the provisions, authority transfer and regulatory relaxation clauses were most prevalent at 465 (44.93%), followed by financial and procedural advantages at 286 (27.63%), and preferential treatment for local issues at 119 (11.50%).

The CCEJ criticized these bills for including numerous problematic provisions that threaten the national administrative system under the guise of local decentralization. These include undermining financial principles through exemptions from feasibility studies, favoring large private corporations, and discriminating against other regions.

The coalition demanded an end to reckless competition for attracting facilities, withdrawal of requests for tax cuts and financial privileges, removal of clauses exempting feasibility studies, reconsideration of sweeping authority transfers, prioritization of effective decentralization policies, and the establishment of a Basic Law for Administrative Integration.

Regarding the Basic Law, the CCEJ argued that the current approach of local governments competitively seeking special provisions is flawed. They called for the federal government to first establish a comprehensive law clearly defining the goals, procedures, financial support principles, and criteria for distributing national affairs in administrative integration.

The coalition emphasized that administrative integration significantly impacts residents’ lives and rights. To ensure procedural legitimacy and protect citizens’ right to information and self-determination, they insisted that any administrative integration efforts must legally require a public referendum.