Incheon and Busan groups oppose port authority merger, saying it undermines decentralization

The proposed merger of South Korea's four port authorities has triggered a united backlash in Incheon and Busan, where civic groups say the plan would weaken local control over vital economic infrastructure.

Sixteen Incheon organizations, including the Incheon Port Development Council, urged the government to withdraw the plan. They argued that combining national infrastructure simply because the authorities perform similar functions ignores the distinct characteristics of each port and its impact on the surrounding economy.

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The government announcement is closed-door administration that excludes the workers and citizens who are the operators of public institutions.

Six groups in Busan, including the Busan Development Council, said the decision directly contradicts the government's stated goals of decentralization and balanced national development. Concentrating major policy and investment decisions for ports in a single, centrally controlled corporation, they said, makes it impossible to claim that local autonomy and regional balance remain priorities.

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Merging national core infrastructure because its functions are the same fails to sufficiently consider the characteristics of each port and its impact on the regional economy.

The groups called for the four port authorities to retain their independence, autonomy, expertise and management accountability. They warned that civic groups in Busan, Ulsan, South Gyeongsang, Yeosu-Gwangyang and Incheon would join lawmakers and the port industry in a nationwide campaign against legislation supporting a forced merger.

The opposition forms part of a broader protest against a government reform plan that includes relocating administrative and public institutions and reducing the number of public institutions by 109 from next year. The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions' Public Transport Workers' Union accused the government of excluding workers and the public from decisions affecting public services, public responsibility and labor rights.

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This decision directly runs counter to the decentralization and balanced national development policies that the government has emphasized.

The article also reports concerns about merging five power-generation companies owned by Korea Electric Power Corp. Their headquarters are currently spread across several regions, and critics fear a consolidated headquarters could draw talent and tax revenue away from those areas, while weakening local businesses and new industries. Financial public institutions, meanwhile, were not included in the announced relocation list but may be designated later. Their unions planned a strike involving 42 branches to oppose relocation.

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We will begin the first general strike tomorrow, reflecting the determination to fight shown by 100,000 financial workers.