Three cities in the south go for integration

A plan to integrate Masan, Changwon and Jinhae in South Gyeongsang Province is gaining a decisive momentum as it has been approved by all three city councils.

The 20-member council in Changwon yesterday passed the plan with 14 votes in favor. Four raised objections, with one absent from the voting session.

The city councils of Masan and Jinhae had approved the plan on Monday.

"We believe the city could transform into one that will have global competitiveness coming from the synergy it can create through the integration," heads of the three city councils said in a statement yesterday.

The Provincial Council of South Gyeongsang Province is scheduled to put a bill on the merger of the three cities to a floor vote next Monday.

If put into practice, the plan will give birth to one of the largest cities across the nation, which will have a total population of 1.08 million.



Together with its increased budget and expanded area, the combined city will be aligned in the top with six other cities - Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon and Gwangju - population-wise.

It will also receive state support measures recently made public by the Ministry of Public Administration and Security.

The ministry plans to grant cities with over 1 million residents to issue their own regional development bonds and construct buildings with more than 21 stories, if they win approval from local councilors.

It announced yesterday that it will submit a bill designed to grant administrative incentives to combined cities by this month.

The ministry will also put a law on the merger of Masan, Changwon and Jinhae to a public notice sometime next week.

A joint preparatory committee will be launched to decide on the name of the new city and the location of its administrative office and council, and to review possible regional development measures.

Another advisory board, composed of officials from seven ministries, will be formed to devise specific support schemes, said a government official.

The combined city`s gross regional domestic product is expected to hit 21.7 trillion won ($18.64 billion), surpassing Daejeon`s 20.8 trillion won and Gwangju`s 20.2 trillion won.

Officials estimate the financial benefit from the integration of the three cities to reach 1 trillion won.

The government plans to grant the city with incentives which sums up to 236.9 billion won for the next decade, acknowledging their voluntary movement geared toward integration. The combined city will also be allowed to cut down about 762 billion won on public finance.

The growth potential of the newly integrated city seems even brighter considering that Masan`s strongest area is the cultural services it could provide with its high-tech industry, including Robot Land, while Changwon is known for its machine industry and Jinhae has its edge on marine tourism.

On another front, some are raising oppositions to the plan stating it will trigger regional unbalance.

"The local administration coordination scheme must be put to a national referendum," Changwon city council member Lee Jong-su said during its plenary session.

About 20 members of a civic group in Masan also staged a sit-in in front of the main chamber of the Masan City Council, requesting that the local government should let the people have their say before making the final decision.

(sharon@heraldm.com)



By Cho Ji-hyun