Merger of 3 Seoul Suburbs Gets Green Light

The Hanam City Council has passed a bill on the merger of the Seoul suburbs of Seongnam, Hanam and Gwangju in Gyeonggi Province. The South Gyeongsang Provincial Council has also passed a bill on the merger of Changwon, Masan and Jinhae, as the bids to integrate autonomous administrative districts are picking up speed.

The Hanam council submitted Thursday a “suggestion on the merger of the Hanam, Seongnam and Gwangju administrative cities,” with three of its five representatives voting in favor of the bill.

Two Democratic Labor Party members voted against the bill, but two members from the ruling Grand National Party and one from the Democratic Party casted a yes vote to pass the bill.

The Seongnam City Council postponed the approval of the merger bill to Jan. 20 amid opposition by opposition party members, but the Hanam council passed the merger bill following the Gwangju city council. So the proposed merger of the three cities around the Seongnam region is gathering momentum.

The South Gyeongsang Provincial Council also put to a vote a suggestion on the merger of Changwon, Masan and Jinhae administrative districts, which was submitted by Lee Tae-il in his capacity as council chairman in its main session Thursday.

The council approved the bill with 36 in favor, 13 against, and three abstaining among its 52 representatives. Thus, the councils of the three cities and the province all approved the bill on the merger of Changwon, Masan and Jinhae.

The Public Administration and Security Ministry sent an official letter to three autonomous districts urging a formation of a 15-member preparatory committee to discuss and pick the name of the merged city, and the location of a new city hall by year`s end.

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