By Oh Young-jin
Staff Reporter

A big city with a population of over 1 million and gross regional domestic product (GRDP) of 22 trillion won will be launched in South Gyeongsang Province in July as the result of the first merger of three cities ― Changwon, Masan and Jinhae.

The City Council of Changwon, an industrial town, voted 15 to four in favor of a city-to-city merger. Masan, a port city known for its free export zone, and Jinhae, a port home to the Korean Navy, had already passed the three-way merger plan.

The mayor of the combined city will be selected in local elections in June, with the official launch of the yet-to-be-named city forthcoming immediately afterwards.

The Ministry of Public Security and Administration, which is responsible for city-to-city mergers, plans to submit a bill regarding their merger to the National Assembly next February.

The combined city will be the seventh largest following Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Daegu, Daejeon and Gwangju. With a population of 1.08 million, it would be larger than Suwon, the biggest among the local governments.

In GRDP, it will generate 21.7 trillion won, larger than the industrial towns of Gumi, Gwangju and Daejeon.

The new city expects to see a number synergistic effects following the merger, the ministry says. First, it is entitled to issue bonds for regional development and build higher than 21-story buildings. At the same time, greater discretion will be allowed for redevelopment with an additional deputy mayor to be appointed.

The ministry says that the new city will get an "incentive subsidy" of 240 billion won from the central government for the next 10 years, with cost cutting effects of 760 billion won.

However, the new city comes at a cost because it is being pushed by the government with little consensus among residents of the three cities. As a matter of fact, Changwon's council vote was conducted in an up-and-down manner, after a residents' referendum plan was ditched. The two other cities also didn't conduct a referendum, citing administrative inconvenience.

Critics claim that the big city will siphon off all resources for the region, making it hard for the remaining 18 local governments to set up their own development plan.

"It will result in a vicious cycle of the rich getting richer, the poor getting poorer," said an official from a local government that is not included in the three-way merger.

The new city will face a number of problems starting with its name and location of its City Hall, among others, an urban expert said.

Meanwhile, Seongnam, Hanam and Gwangju are expected to decide on their merger bid before Christmas Eve. The merger between Cheongju and Cheongwon in North Chungchong Province is facing opposition from the latter's county council.

foolsdie@koreatimes.co.kr