Hypothetical Suwon, Hwaseong, Osan: Finally 'United'

[Suwon Region Merger Virtual Reality] On January 1, 2014, banners reading 'Congratulations on the Confirmation of Administrative District Merger of Suwon, Hwaseong, and Osan' were hung throughout the city. Citizens celebrated this historic day, which bore fruit after long deliberations on the Suwon region merger. The three-city merger was realized when Osan City, which had shown no movement on the integration plan between Suwon and Hwaseong, belatedly agreed to the merger. As a result, an integrated city was born with a population of 1.8 million, an annual budget scale of 3 trillion won, and 4,391 civil servants. This exceeds the administrative scale of Ulsan Metropolitan City and the merged Changwon City. However, there were many twists and turns before the merger was realized.

In 2010, Suwon and Hwaseong established a long-term plan of 'first laying integration foundations, then proceeding with administrative district merger,' and implemented various joint projects for emotional and economic integration. They jointly hosted various events including the Hwaseong Cultural Festival and sold fresh agricultural products produced in Hwaseong through direct transactions in Suwon. In addition, regulations were revised to allow citizens from respective regions equal access to public facilities including Yeonhwa Stadium as well as cultural and sports facilities, and human exchanges among public institutions were further expanded.

The two cities unified their public transportation systems including buses and taxis, and jointly succeeded in attracting KTX stations and Samsung Electronics' new growth industries valued at several trillion won to the Suwon region. They established the nation's first inter-municipal master urban plan by combining Hwaseong's extensive land with Suwon's urban planning expertise. The plan presented a vision of becoming a world-class city by concentrating on advanced industries, cultural tourism, and urban agriculture. Despite opposition from residents in Hwaseong's western region, conflicts were resolved after the joint announcement of a coastal development plan centered on marine leisure.

During the three-city merger discussions, Osan City questioned the 'necessity of merger' and pursued an independent course. Concerned about becoming a 'peripheral city' in the three-city merger, Osan initially sought to merge with Hwaseong and Osan, but the plan fell through due to Hwaseong's opposition, which judged there would be no practical benefit. When the criteria for local government mergers by the Presidential Committee for Local Administrative System Reform were presented on June 30, 2012, Osan began to shift its weight toward the merger as the birth of an integrated city became imminent.

This was because the 'Special Act on Reform of the Local Administrative System' passed the National Assembly on August 16, 2010, establishing the foundation for the composition of the reform committee responsible for local administrative system reforms, merger procedures, and national support measures. According to the committee's criteria for city, county, and district mergers, the three city councils voted in favor of merger recommendations. Previously, through various opinion polls and public hearings, the three cities found overwhelming support for the merger, and thus passed the merger recommendations through city council resolutions without holding a referendum. Following the enactment of legislation establishing the integrated local government in the National Assembly, the first integrated city mayor of the Suwon, Hwaseong, and Osan regions is expected to be elected in the local elections held in June 2014.

<The above indicates that the administrative district merger of the Suwon region is hypothetical.>