Merger of three suburbs could lead to new city of 1 mln in July

SEOUL, Jan. 22 (Yonhap) -- South Korea came one step closer Friday to witnessing
the emergence of a new city with a population of over 1 million as a local city
council approved a plan to merge with two nearby cities, city officials said.

The central government plans to support the merger of the three cities --
Seongnam, Gwangju and Hanam -- in Gyeonggi Province, which surrounds the capital
Seoul, and encourage efforts to transform the area into a "future city" that can
accommodate IT industries and leisure facilities.
The Seongnam city council passed the plan on Friday. Both Gwangju and Hanam
already approved the merger last month.
The combined city, with a population of 1.35 million, would be the seventh
largest in the country following Seoul, Busan, Daegu, Incheon, Gwangju and
Daejon, officials said. A name for the city has yet to be determined.
In terms of gross regional domestic product (GRDP), the new city would rank
second behind Gumi, an industrial town in North Gyeongsang Province, with 16.8
trillion won (US$ 14.6 billion) per year. The ranking excludes the nation's
provinces and special administrative districts.
Size-wise the combined area of the merged cities measures some 665.7 square
kilometers, larger than Seoul's 605 square kilometers, according to the
officials.
Last month, Changwon and the two southern port cities of Masan and Jinhae in
South Gyeongsang Province gained approval from their respective councils for a
similar merger. The new city is expected to have a population of 1.08 million.
The moves follow President Lee Myung-bak's repeated call to combine small towns
as part of efforts to promote administrative efficiency across the country.
The new city will receive incentives in the form of financial support of 324.9
billion won from the central government over the next 10 years, with combined
cost cutting effects of 562.6 billion won. The city's mayor will have the right
to approve plans for construction of 50-story or lower buildings, while up to two
deputy mayors can be appointed.
With the latest decision, the Ministry of Public Security and Administration,
which is supervising the mergers, plans to add the city mergers to a related bill
submitted to the National Assembly on Dec. 15. The ministry says it will support
the merger in an effort to hold local elections for the megered city in June and
inaugurate the new city the following month.
sshim@yna.co.kr
(END)

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