North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly Speaker Kim Hui-su (from right), North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho and Daegu City Council Speaker Im In-hwan pose for a photo before a four-way summit on regional cooperation at Daegu City Hall's Sangyeok office on Tuesday. [Photo by Kim Byeong-jin]
North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly Speaker Kim Hui-su (from right), North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho and Daegu City Council Speaker Im In-hwan pose for a photo before a four-way summit on regional cooperation at Daegu City Hall's Sangyeok office on Tuesday. [Photo by Kim Byeong-jin]

Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province agreed Tuesday to jointly pursue construction of the Daegu-North Gyeongsang integrated new airport, administrative integration and the relocation of a second round of public institutions, at a meeting held at Daegu City Hall's Sangyeok office.

The gathering brought together four leaders — Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho, North Gyeongsang Province Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Daegu City Council Speaker Im In-hwan and North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly Speaker Kim Hui-su — who adopted a joint declaration pledging mutual cooperation and shared development.

On administrative integration, Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province agreed to strengthen cooperation toward enacting a special integration law by the end of this year and launching a unified special city by 2028. They also plan to hold a joint session of National Assembly members in November, bolster the functions of the administrative integration task force and develop a shared growth strategy that includes the northern part of North Gyeongsang Province.

The four parties also agreed to treat construction of the integrated new airport as a core project for regional growth and balanced national development, pledging to jointly address related legislative amendments and government consultations to secure state support.

On the second round of public institution relocations, the parties agreed to cooperate in attracting key institutions aligned with their regional development strategies and to urge the central government to ensure a fair site-selection process.

The two cities and provinces will also expand cooperation in the economic, transportation, tourism and healthcare sectors to build a broad metropolitan living and economic zone.

In the economic sphere, they plan to advance a "five-hub, three-special Daegu-North Gyeongsang growth engine development plan" and establish a humanoid robot complex. On transportation, they will work together to build a wide-area transit network and a metropolitan rail link between Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province.

In tourism, the parties will develop joint content and pursue shared promotional marketing efforts. In healthcare, they will establish a cooperative framework for essential medical services to address gaps in critical care and emergency treatment.

The parties also agreed to jointly oppose any plan to fund a future-response fund using local allocation tax revenues, to ensure local allocation taxes are distributed according to current standards and to cooperate on expanding locally autonomous revenue sources.

"If my visit to North Gyeongsang Province in July was the starting point for cooperation on shared regional issues, today's four-way summit is significant in that the cities, provinces and their assemblies have come together to set more concrete action plans and formalize our commitment to a joint response," Daegu Mayor Choo said.

"The path to making Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province the center of South Korea again lies in administrative integration and construction of the integrated new airport," Governor Lee said. "Now that the cities, provinces and assemblies have gathered here today and spoken with one voice, we will work to achieve administrative integration as soon as possible and ensure the integrated new airport is prioritized through the strength of our residents."

Daegu City Council Speaker Im said the assembly would actively support efforts to keep key initiatives for the future of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province on track, and pledged to help deliver tangible results in cooperation and shared development that residents can feel in their daily lives.

"There can be no boundaries between cities, provinces and assemblies when it comes to changing the future of Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province," North Gyeongsang Provincial Assembly Speaker Kim said. "We will speak with one voice to resolve shared challenges in a direction that allows five million residents to grow together."


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