광주 자치구 경계조정 준비기획단 2년여 만에 재가동
Gwangju municipalities adjusting boundaries
The 5 municipalities within
Gwangju City are hurrying with boundary adjustments before the official
integration discussions are to begin with Jeonnam province. This is after 2
years that the preparatory planning team has resumed to officialize the discussions.
Our Jongmin Kim reports.
The discussions regarding boundary adjustments between the municipalities
within Gwangju are resuming after two years
Gwangju City launched the "Gwangju district readjustment Preparation
Group" consisting of Gwangju's 5 district officials, civil society organization
representatives, and experts. The group established implementation plans and
promoted studies for the analysis of domestic and foreign cases, basic plans,
and research implementation systems.
The preparation team also plans to invite experts to hold special lectures
and discussions with the press and civic groups to support the plan.
Amid the heated controversy over the plan, Dong-gu district is the most
willing to support the change of boundaries among autonomous districts, as
Dong-gu has seen a dramatic population decrease in the recent years. A Dong-gu
district official said only 8% of Gwangju’s population resides in the
district, and for the balanced development of the city, boundary adjustment is
inevitable.
On the other hand, there’s a strong backlash against the plan from residents in
the Buk-gu and Gwangsan-gu areas. The Buk-gu and Gwangsan-gu offices announced
that they will follow the willingness of the residents; however, some Buk-gu
residents put up banners expressing their opposition to the plan, while some
Gwangsan-gu resident autonomous organizations announced their position and
stated objections to the plan.
Regarding this, a city official said each district is considering the
advantages and disadvantages of this plan, and there hasn’t
been a proper opinion collecting procedure yet, and added that even though the
city would report the final plan to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, it
will most likely hold a residential vote on whether or not the district
boundaries should be adjusted to prevent possible zoning conflicts.