Curveball amid deadlock over administrative integration: "Unify the Chungcheong region and relocate the capital"

[The Financial News] As the special bill on administrative integration between Daejeon Metropolitan City and South Chungcheong Province sinks below the surface due to disagreements between the ruling and opposition parties, President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party of Korea have put forward a new proposal to revive the debate. They are suggesting integrating the entire Chungcheong region, including North Chungcheong Province, and arguing for unifying Daejeon Metropolitan City, Sejong Special Self-Governing City, and Cheongju into a new capital.
First, on the 13th, Lee Jae-myung held a Chungcheongbuk-do town hall meeting at the OSCO Convention & Exhibition Center in Cheongju and remarked, "When I heard that Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province might be integrated, I suddenly thought, 'What about North Chungcheong Province, what happens to us?'" He went on, "We need to consider whether North Chungcheong Province will continue on an independent path, or whether we should integrate North and South Chungcheong Provinces together with Daejeon to create a vast economic zone and administrative system."
The idea of integrating the entire Chungcheong region, including North Chungcheong Province, with Daejeon Metropolitan City and South Chungcheong Province has already been raised in political circles. However, as legislation has moved forward to elevate North Chungcheong Province Government to a special self-governing province, similar to North Jeolla Province, Gangwon State, and Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, efforts shifted toward promoting a Daejeon–South Chungcheong integration law. Lee Jae-myung’s call for broader Chungcheong integration is being interpreted as a proposal to use the difficulties facing the Daejeon–South Chungcheong merger as an opportunity to rethink the issue from a different angle.
Within the Democratic Party of Korea, a bold proposal has emerged to set aside the faltering administrative integration plan and instead relocate the capital to the Chungcheong region. Jang Chul-min, a lawmaker running in the Democratic Party of Korea primary for mayor of Daejeon Metropolitan City, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Center and proposed the launch of a "New Capital Special City" formed by integrating Daejeon Metropolitan City, Sejong Special Self-Governing City, and Cheongju. He further argued that the capital status of Seoul Special City should be transferred and that Seoul should be downgraded to Seoul Metropolitan City.
At the heart of the New Capital Special City proposal is Sejong Special Self-Governing City, which serves as the administrative capital. The plan is to accelerate construction of the Sejong Presidential Office and the National Assembly Building (South Korea), and to integrate Daejeon Metropolitan City and Cheongju to establish a new capital. In addition, there is a vision to merge the remaining areas of the Chungcheong region, excluding the new capital, into a single entity to create a new capital region that would replace Gyeonggi Province.

uknow@fnnews.com Kim Yun-ho Reporter