DAEGU — Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province will concentrate their efforts this year on enacting a special law on administrative integration, with the goal of launching a merged metropolitan city in 2028.
The two governments also agreed to maintain close coordination on the central government's second round of public agency relocations.
Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho, North Gyeongsang Governor Lee Cheol-woo, Daegu City Council Speaker Lim In-hwan and North Gyeongsang Provincial Council Speaker Kim Hee-soo reached the agreements at talks on shared policy issues held on the 6th at the Daegu city government's Sangyeok office, the two governments said.
On administrative integration, they agreed to hold a joint meeting of National Assembly members from Daegu and North Gyeongsang in November, strengthen the functions of the Daegu-North Gyeongsang integration task force and work together on a joint development strategy covering the northern part of the province.
The officials shared the view that construction of the Daegu-Gyeongbuk Integrated Airport is both a foundation for regional growth and a core project for balanced national development.
They agreed to respond jointly on revising related legislation and in negotiations with the central government to secure full state support for the project.
On the relocation of public agencies, they plan to work together to attract key institutions that match the region's industrial base and development strategy, and to press the central government to select relocation sites fairly and objectively.
Cooperation by sector will also begin in earnest, aimed at developing Daegu and North Gyeongsang as a single mega-regional living and economic zone.
In the economy, the two governments will draw up a growth engine development plan for the Daegu-North Gyeongsang area under the government's "five poles, three special zones" framework by the end of the year, and form a joint task force to create a national advanced strategic industry cluster for humanoid robots.
On transport, they agreed to build a metropolitan transport network linking the two regions into one living and economic zone, and to cooperate so that major projects such as the Daegu-North Gyeongsang metropolitan railway proceed smoothly.
In tourism, following their selection for the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism's program to develop tourism zones centered on regional airports, they will form a consultative body for a Daegu-North Gyeongsang tourism zone and jointly plan mega-regional tourism cooperation, including the development of shared tourism content.
In health care, they agreed to establish governance for mega-regional cooperation on essential medical services and to pursue joint projects that link medical resources to close gaps in care for severe and emergency cases.
"We will move quickly on major tasks such as administrative integration, construction of the integrated airport and the relocation of public agencies, to produce results that residents can feel," Choo said.
"The path for Daegu and North Gyeongsang to become the center of South Korea again lies in administrative integration and the construction of the integrated airport," Lee said. "Now that the city, the province and both councils have come together and agreed on direction, we will pick up the pace on these issues."
