Reaffirms Joint Response to Key Issues, Including Daegu–Gyeongbuk (TK) Administrative Integration and New Airport

【Financial News, Daegu = Reporter Kim Jang-wook】“With Daegu City, North Gyeongsang Province, and both city and provincial councils coming together and reaching a shared understanding, we will achieve administrative integration as soon as possible and work to prioritize the new airport through the collective strength of residents of Daegu and North Gyeongsang.”
Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho and North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo, along with Daegu City Council Chair Lim In-hwan and North Gyeongsang Provincial Council Chair Kim Hee-soo, came together and reaffirmed their commitment to jointly address key issues facing TK.
They agreed on the afternoon of the 6th at Daegu City Hall’s Sangyeok Office to jointly address issues including construction of the TK new airport, administrative integration, the second phase of public institution relocation, cooperation on a transregional living and economic zone, and expansion of local fiscal resources, and adopted a joint agreement.
In particular, the agreement was drawn up to strengthen the framework for mutually beneficial cooperation between the two city and provincial governments and their councils, centered on shared issues facing TK, and to lay the foundation for shared prosperity.
Mayor Choo and Governor Lee stressed that “the way for TK to once again become the center of South Korea lies in administrative integration and construction of the new airport.”
They said, “If the visit to North Gyeongsang last July was the starting point for cooperation to resolve TK’s shared issues, this four-way meeting is significant because it formalized the city, province and councils’ commitment to jointly develop more concrete plans for action and respond together.” They added, “We will move key tasks—including administrative integration, construction of the new airport and relocation of public institutions—forward at pace and deliver results that residents of the city and province can feel.”
They agreed to focus their efforts on enacting the Integrated Special Act by the end of this year and launching the Integrated Special City in 2028. To that end, they plan to hold a joint meeting of National Assembly members from Daegu and North Gyeongsang in November, strengthen the functions of the Daegu–Gyeongbuk Administrative Integration Promotion Task Force, and work closely to develop a joint development strategy for Daegu and North Gyeongsang encompassing the province’s northern region.
They also shared the view that construction of the new airport is both a foundation for regional growth and a key project for balanced national development. To ensure the project proceeds smoothly, they agreed to mobilize all of TK’s resources and jointly pursue amendments to relevant laws and consultations with the government to secure its full support.
They also agreed to maintain close coordination on the government’s second phase of public institution relocation. The two governments plan to work together to attract key public institutions aligned with the region’s industrial base and development strategy, and to urge the government to select relocation sites fairly and objectively.
They also made clear their opposition to operating the government’s planned Future Response Fund in a way that uses even the portion of Local Grant Tax funding earmarked for local governments.
The two governments plan to work with local National Assembly members and other local governments to ensure that Local Grant Tax funding is distributed according to current criteria during the National Assembly’s review of bills and deliberation on the budget in November. They also plan to work together to expand local governments’ own-source revenues, including the Local Grant Tax and local consumption tax.

[email protected] Kim Jang-wook Reporter