By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The ruling camp is considering holding a referendum on rezoning administrative districts next year, said a Cheong Wa Dae source Saturday.
The source said, on condition of anonymity, that the government proposal would be completed either later this year or early next year.
``The government is expected to put the proposal to a vote,'' he said.
The plan came out after President Lee Myung-bak and the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) Chairman Chung Sye-kyun agreed to rezone outdated administrative zones in a recent meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.
President Lee expressed the hope that the National Assembly will come up with a bipartisan bill. But the governing and the opposition parties still differ on details of the plan.
Currently, Korea has 230 counties and cities, nine provinces and seven metropolitan cities, including Seoul.
The presidential office reportedly favors a plan whereby the nation is divided into seven large districts called the ``Five Plus Two Zones'' plan.
Meanwhile, GNP and DP leaders are known to be reviewing a proposal to merge the current 230 counties and cities into 60 to 70 counties.