![The Samhyang-eup Council of Local Institutions and Social Groups meets at the Samhyang-eup office on Jan. 28 to denounce what it called a rushed agreement on a proposed administrative merger between South Jeolla Province and Gwangju. [Photo provided by the council]](https://image.ajunews.com/content/image/2026/01/29/20260129085203640352.jpeg)
Controversy over a proposed administrative merger between South Jeolla Province and the city of Gwangju is spreading across the region. The Samhyang-eup Council of Local Institutions and Social Groups in Muan County said the recent merger agreement between the provincial government and Gwangju was “a rushed deal” that “gave up South Jeolla’s interests.”
In a statement released Jan. 28, the council criticized an announcement that South Jeolla Gov. Kim Young Rok and Gwangju Mayor Kang Ki Jung agreed to name the merged local government “Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City,” with the abbreviated name “Gwangju Special City,” and to operate offices across the eastern region, Muan and Gwangju without designating a main headquarters. The council said the decision “betrays residents’ common sense and expectations.”
The council said the move reversed a tentative agreement reached just a day earlier, on Jan. 25, at a “Gwangju-South Jeolla administrative merger meeting” to place the main headquarters at the South Jeolla Provincial Government building in Muan. It called the reversal an act that undermined the merger’s stated principles of coexistence and balanced development.
It also argued that deciding such a major issue through a meeting among a few local leaders, without sufficient discussion with residents, city and provincial councils, amounted to an abuse of authority that ignored democratic process. It said opinions from South Jeolla’s 22 cities and counties and their residents were excluded.
The council said Muan is already the administrative center of South Jeolla because the provincial government is located there, and that it can best ensure continuity and efficiency in regional administration. It added that the Namak and Oryong new towns have grown into a major living area where housing, commerce and education functions are concentrated.
If the merger proceeds without a confirmed main headquarters, the council warned, it could lead to the collapse of existing commercial districts, threaten small businesses, deepen economic stagnation and accelerate population decline. It said the issue is directly tied to the future of Samhyang-eup and the wider Muan area.
Saying it cannot accept a merger without a main headquarters, the council urged officials to immediately confirm the South Jeolla Provincial Government building as the main headquarters of the proposed “Jeonnam-Gwangju Special City.” It also called for disclosure of a clear administrative center and division of authority, rather than vague language about “balanced operation,” and urged the government and National Assembly to specify in merger legislation that the provincial government building will serve as the core of the integrated regional administration.
The council said it will continue to take action to protect South Jeolla’s interests and residents’ pride.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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