Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang to Resume Administrative Merger Talks Despite Differences

Talks on integrating Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang are starting again, even as the three regions remain divided over what that integration should mean.

The three provincial and metropolitan leaders will meet in Busan on Aug. 8 for the fourth Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang Policy Council. Jeon Jae-soo, the mayor of Busan, Kim Sang-wook, the mayor of Ulsan, and Park Wan-soo, the governor of South Gyeongsang, are all expected to attend.

The council serves as the top decision-making body of the super-regional economic alliance launched by the three regions in July 2023. It will be their first meeting since the new local administrations began their terms on July 1, and the first gathering of all three leaders to discuss cooperation under the new political lineup.

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The policy council is expected to be a place to confirm the differences in each side's position on administrative integration. However, the fact that discussions on administrative integration are restarting itself has significance.

South Gyeongsang said the council would examine ways to strengthen cooperation across a shared living and economic zone. The agenda includes joint responses in industry, transport, daily life and administration, as well as projects that could produce greater results if pursued together. The regions plan to announce the outcome in a joint declaration.

However, working-level consultations last month reportedly revealed differences over administrative integration. A South Gyeongsang official said the meeting would likely confirm those differences, but added that simply restarting the discussion had significance. Earlier, Park and former Busan Mayor Park Hyung-joon had proposed a referendum this year, followed by an election for a unified local-government leader alongside the April 2028 parliamentary election. That plan stalled after Park Hyung-joon lost the June local election. Jeon and Kim have instead backed a looser special alliance. South Gyeongsang Governor Park Wan-soo continues to argue that integration should proceed through a referendum and provide the unified government with appropriate status and authority.

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A referendum should be held so that integration is achieved by the residents, and the unified local government must secure status and authority appropriate to it. A special alliance requires unnecessary budget, personnel and administrative resources, and slows integration. It is desirable to move directly to administrative integration.