North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo. [North Gyeongsang Province]
North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo. [North Gyeongsang Province]

North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo pushed back sharply Tuesday against President Lee Jae-myung's remarks at a first-anniversary press conference. The president had suggested that administrative mergers between metropolitan governments would not be possible before the next local elections — which Lee said amounted to a declaration that the Daegu-North Gyeongsang integration would not move forward during his term.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, the governor said the Democratic Party of Korea had pledged during the local elections to establish a Daegu-Gyeongbuk Special Metropolitan City by 2028, complete the administrative merger ahead of schedule and provide government support — only for the president to walk back those commitments after the votes were counted. "This is a betrayal of the promise made to the people of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province," he said.

He said the government and the ruling party were pressing ahead with a merger between Gwangju and South Jeolla Province despite opposition from some communities and education circles in the region. "The fact that Gwangju-South Jeolla can proceed while Daegu-North Gyeongsang cannot is blatant regional discrimination," he said.

On the question of local council members' terms, Lee proposed that only the inaugural mayor of the merged Daegu-Gyeongbuk Special Metropolitan City serve a two-year term, while sitting municipal and provincial assembly members retain their seats through 2030 before a regular local election is held.

"Metropolitan administrative integration is the core of the government's five-hub, three-special-zone strategy," Lee said. "The Daegu-North Gyeongsang merger is a new model for breaking the Greater Seoul monopoly and achieving balanced national development." He called on the government and the ruling party to honor their campaign pledges and pursue the integration "without discrimination, without interruption and with accountability."

Lee also said residents of the region had taken heart when the president recently hosted a summit with the Japanese prime minister in Andong, his hometown. "I believe he will help bring about the Daegu-North Gyeongsang merger so that the people of his hometown can take pride in having a president from our region," he added.


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