In a November 8, 2021 video on the YouTube channel “jungbub2013,” Chunghong advocated for the unification of Seoul and Gyeonggi Province. In the video, Chun Gong pointed out the complexity of Seoul and the problem of housing prices, saying that the city needs to be reorganized. Rather than moving the administrative capital to Sejong City, he argued that turning Seoul into an administrative city in the face of a metropolitan area that includes Gyeonggi Province would be a solution to housing, administrative, and educational problems. These claims are in line with the People’s Power’s “Megacity Seoul” initiative, and are raising new questions about South Korean politics.
- See the video at the bottom of this post
Envisioning Megacity Seoul
The announcement of the People’s Power’s “Mega City Seoul” plan to incorporate Gimpo, Gyeonggi-do, into the city of Seoul made waves in South Korean politics. This is more than just a matter of administrative reorganization; it involves a variety of issues, including the future of metropolitan areas, the realignment of powers between central and local governments, and regional balanced development. It would be unfair to say that the people’s power simply followed Heaven’s lead, as the megacity idea itself has its own rationales and political calculations that may have merit. Also, the idea of megacities is not unique, and there are experts and international examples that make similar claims.
“The government has decided to foster megacities in non-metropolitan areas, and on October 14, 2021, it announced a strategy for supporting super-regional cooperation, and Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam are close to this strategy,” Chun said in the lecture. When asked if this strategy could be a growth engine for the Korean economy, he replied, “We need to move into the era of metropolitan areas that combine cities and provinces into one.” “In the future, all cities in Korea should be made into metropolitan areas, and Seoul should be united with Gyeonggi Province,” he said, emphasizing that “then Seoul will be the capital of Korea in the world.”
Public opinion and the Democratic Party’s dilemma
The Democratic Party is highly responsive to the ruling party’s issue mobilization aimed at the general election in the Seoul metropolitan area, and it is also important to consider that hasty opposition may backfire on the targeted areas. This is why there are so many different voices within the party, and shows the disconnect between the individual positions of politicians and the official position of the party. However, the fact that the idea is similar to that of Cheon Gong, who has been a problematic figure since the beginning of the government’s rule, shows that at least for the time being, there is a consensus that it might be a useful issue(?). The Democratic Party has focused its criticism on the ruling party’s “Mega City Seoul” initiative, which it says is, at the very least, a “rushed election policy.
Conclusion
The Democratic Party’s stance on the “Mega City Seoul” initiative reflects careful political calculation and sensitive public opinion. Indeed, it remains to be seen how this initiative will change the future direction of Korean politics and the development of the metropolitan area.
