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A banner hangs in the city of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, on Nov. 3, 2023, in support of the ruling People Power Party's proposal to merge the city into the capital. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald) |
A bill proposed by the ruling People Power Party last year to incorporate the city of Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, into Seoul currently faces termination due to not being introduced even to a parliamentary subcommittee, according to the National Assembly on Friday.
According to the National Assembly’s Bill Information website, no further discussions regarding the Special Act on the Change of Jurisdiction Between Gyeonggi Province and Seoul have been made since the bill was presented by Rep. Cho Kyoung-tae of the People Power Party on Nov. 16, 2023.
As the 21st National Assembly's term ends at the end of this month, the bill is to be automatically scrapped.
The bill proposed by the People Power Party for “Mega Seoul” aims to integrate the city of Gimpo in Gyeonggi Province into the capital city. The provincial government has also been mulling carving off a northern section of Gyeonggi Province due to its growing population at the same time.
Along with some other neighboring cities such as Goyang and Hanam, the Gimpo municipal government actively expressed its preference for becoming part of Seoul instead of being subjected to the potential division of Gyeonggi Province.
“It’s been difficult for the 21st National Assembly to process the law as opinions regarding it remain sharply divided,” an official from the National Assembly’s Public Administration and Security Committee told Yonhap News Agency on Friday.
A referendum proposed by the Gimpo municipal government in December 2023 to the Ministry of Interior and Safety to collect public opinions on the reorganization of administrative divisions has also not yet been conducted.
According to the Interior Ministry, it is difficult to determine whether the referendum should be held, as the joint study between Gimpo’s municipal government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the megacity plan’s future is still ongoing.
In November 2023, a separate task force conducting a comprehensive study on the inclusion of Gimpo and other adjacent cities into the capital was formed. The task force has held three meetings so far and plans to hold a fourth soon. According to the Interior Ministry, it is “difficult to decide when the referendum will be held, as it has not yet received a concrete plan on how Gimpo will be incorporated into the capital city.”
“We are waiting until the task force between Gimpo and Seoul releases its joint study results,” an Interior Ministry official told The Korea Herald.
Meanwhile, Gimpo’s municipal government expressed its commitment to continuing to push for Gimpo’s inclusion into Seoul, including working to have the special law reintroduced to the 22nd National Assembly.
Gimpo’s merger into Seoul is seen as losing momentum after parliamentary candidates who pushed for the merger were defeated during the 22nd parliamentary elections. Gimpo municipal government, meanwhile, vowed to pursue the integration plan, saying that the city has “not stopped moving toward integrating into Seoul since 2022” through its press release on Tuesday.
“There are many people who are worried (about Gimpo’s integration into Seoul) after the general elections, but Gimpo’s attitude remains the same,” said Gimpo Mayor Kim Byung-soo in a Facebook post on April 22. “We will continue as we have been doing so far.”
