Ulsan’s public consultation committee on administrative integration with Busan and South Gyeongsang Province (Gyeongnam) is expected to launch shortly after the June 3 local elections.
On the 13th, the Ulsan City Council’s Administration and Autonomy Committee centered its review of a supplemental budget for the City Planning and Coordination Office on the progress of the administrative integration public consultation committee.
Councilor Gong Jin-hyeok questioned the timeline for the “public consultation committee formation and citizen opinion collection” project, saying that while funds had been requested, there were no concrete plans for direction, timing, or methodology.
The city’s decentralization officer replied that the committee is planned to operate after the local elections and that officials are drafting the operational plan in the meantime. He added that the city will brief the council before the launch so the committee can start immediately after the election.
On composition, he said members will be recruited online from a broad range of stakeholders, including civic organizations, and that deliberations will be structured to ensure objectivity.
The city noted that Busan and Gyeongnam convened public consultation committees on the premise of integration, but Ulsan intends to fully inform residents about potential negative consequences of integration and to let citizens’ preferences determine the outcome rather than presuming integration in advance.
Councilor Gong said he understood that Busan–Gyeongnam and Daegu–Gyeongbuk initially supported the “5-poles, 3-specials” arrangement but have since encountered significant controversy, and he urged a careful review to ensure Ulsan’s authority is reflected in any integration discussions.
Councilor Cheon Mi-kyung said administrative integration can reduce operating costs by consolidating overlapping agencies, but it can also exacerbate regional imbalances and further marginalize outlying areas. She emphasized that constituting the public consultation committee—the crucial first step—is important and that forums and opinion polls should be scheduled deliberately rather than rushed.
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