Focus Will Anyang Region Integration Succeed This Time?

Will the integration of the Anyang region (Anyang, Gunpo, Uiwang) finally succeed this time?

As of the 30th, the three-city integration promotion committee for Anyang, Gunpo, and Uiwang is reported to have nearly secured the resident signatures required to submit an integration petition.

Accordingly, attention is drawing on whether the Anyang region integration, which advanced to the implementation stage in 2009 before falling through, can be achieved this time.

Those promoting the integration argue that if proper publicity is conducted, the integration of the three cities is possible through a resident referendum. On the other hand, those opposed to integration cite the case of conflicts in the integrated Changwon City (Masan, Changwon, Jinhae) and claim that integration brings more losses than gains, making integration efforts difficult.

Ultimately, considering that Gunpo and Uiwang cities have lukewarm or opposing positions to integration aside from Anyang City, analysis suggests that the three-city integration will be decided by resident referendum. The administration can conduct the resident referendum ex officio.

Therefore, the 33.3% voter turnout, which is the opening requirement, is expected to be the greatest watershed for integration.

◇Integration Promotion Picks Up Pace

The three-city integration promotion committees for Gunpo, Uiwang, and Anyang were launched on the 9th, 15th, and 21st respectively, and are currently conducting resident signature campaigns to submit integration petitions.

Once signatures equal to one-fiftieth of eligible voters are collected and submitted to the relevant local government exceeding the standard, the petition requirement is established. The eligible number of residents for integration petition is 9,635 in Anyang, 4,396 in Gunpo, and 2,280 in Uiwang.

The Anyang City integration promotion committee estimates that the current number of signatures has exceeded the targeted 25,000.

The Uiwang and Gunpo city integration promotion committees plan to collect signatures by the 30th and next month's 2nd respectively. Both regional integration promotion committees predict that signature counts will exceed their targets of 3,000 (Uiwang) and 6,000 (Gunpo).

In the case of Uiwang City, it is reported that residents in apartment areas of Naesohn and Poil districts, who relatively want to be incorporated into Anyang, comprise a large number of signatories.

Ha Eun-ho, chairman of the Gunpo City integration promotion committee, stated, "By the 2nd, we believe we can achieve the targeted 6,000 signatures," and added, "After organizing and compiling work over the weekend, we plan to submit the integration petition to Gunpo City by the 5th or 6th."

The three-city integration promotion committees plan to submit integration petitions including signature lists to relevant local governments in early next month.

The integration petition will be delivered to the administrative system reform committee by the end of this year through the relevant local government and Gyeonggi Province.

The Minister of the Interior and Safety will recommend integration to local governments that submitted integration petitions starting from next June, and will decide on integration by June 2013 after hearing the opinions of local councils and conducting a resident referendum.

◇Integration: Mountain After Mountain

However, there are many hurdles to overcome for integration. While Anyang City takes an active position on integration, Gunpo and Uiwang cities have relatively lukewarm or opposing stances.

In the case of Uiwang City, there is a negative position that if the three-city integration is achieved, facilities rejected by residents (NIMBY facilities) are likely to be located in Gunpo and Uiwang cities. Additionally, government financial support is analyzed to be less helpful than expected.

Mayor Kim Seong-je of Uiwang City stated, "The discussion of Anyang region integration is not appropriate at this point in time. If the three cities are integrated, Uiwang City will be pushed to the periphery of Anyang. The recently integrated Masan, Changwon, and Jinhae also saw heightened regional conflicts and various side effects, making many wish to return to the old way," showing a skeptical response to integration.

As Uiwang residents' public opinion is also negative about integration, diagnosis indicates that three-city integration has low feasibility.

Residents in Uiwang opposed to the three-city integration have also begun to voice their concerns.

Eight social organizations including resident self-governance committees, town leaders' councils, and sports associations in Cheonggyedong and Naesohn 2-dong of Uiwang City held a meeting on the 25th and launched a campaign against three-city integration.

They pointed out the unfairness of integration, stating, "If three-city integration becomes reality, Uiwang City will be downgraded to the periphery of Anyang, and various resident-averse facilities such as the relocation of Anyang Prison are likely to be built."

Next year's National Assembly elections and presidential election are also unfavorable factors for integration. Since the Public Official Election Act applies 60 days before the election, all integration-related activities including publicity will be suspended. To that extent, the momentum of integration promotion activities may be cut off, potentially working unfavorably in the resident referendum.

◇Favorable Momentum Emerging

Despite these negative factors, those supporting integration anticipate that a favorable momentum has developed and three-city integration is possible this time.

They reason that Anyang, Gunpo, and Uiwang, the three cities separated from Siheung County in 1972, have geographical and historical homogeneity and share the same economic region, making public opinion favorable to integration.

The three cities currently jointly construct and operate an integrated water purification plant and sewage treatment facility, and major government offices including courts, prosecutors' offices, tax offices, customs, and labor offices manage the three cities. Shared taxi business rights and bus routes are also operated integrally, suggesting higher integration possibilities than any other region.

Additionally, the combined population of the three cities is currently 1,053,979 as of end-September (Anyang 617,365, Gunpo 288,028, Uiwang 148,586), which is an appropriately-sized scale to generate integration synergy effects.

Therefore, with the integration of administrative divisions, residents' inconveniences would be resolved through alignment of living areas and administrative boundaries, and many advantages can be achieved such as enhanced urban competitiveness through expanded transportation networks, urban planning, and nature and environmental conservation plans, according to their explanation.

Considering this, unlike Changwon City (Masan, Changwon, Jinhae) where separation claims are currently being made over the integrated city hall location, the Anyang region is expected to generate integration synergy effects.

As both sides' arguments are poised against each other in this manner, forecasts suggest that integration outcomes will be determined by resident referendum.

◇33.3% Voter Turnout is Key

Given the current situation of resident signature campaigns, it is predicted that all three cities will exceed the standard for the required number of resident signatures for integration petition.

Lee Jong-man, standing representative of the three-city integration promotion Anyang City committee, stated, "We expect that the integration petition requirements will be met in all three cities as there are many residents in Uiwang City who also want Anyang region integration."

Once the three-city integration promotion committees submit integration petitions to local governments and Gyeonggi Province and then to the administrative system reform committee, by June 2013 at the latest, opinions from local councils will be heard or a resident referendum for integration promotion will be conducted.

The integration promotion side predicts that in the resident referendum, integration support will exceed a majority in all three cities. In fact, in 2009, when the Ministry of the Interior and Safety conducted a poll (Korea Gallup) for Anyang region integration promotion, the results showed Anyang at 75.1%, Gunpo at 63.6%, and Uiwang at 55.8%, all exceeding a majority in support of integration.

Despite these polling results at the time, the Ministry excluded Anyang region from the integration target areas for political reasons.

Therefore, some point out that the greatest key to integration depends on turnout. An Anyang City official stated, "We expect that resident opinion favoring Anyang region integration will be high in all three cities," adding, "However, the greatest issue is how to secure the 33.3% voter turnout required for vote counting."

In the past, Seoul's free school meals referendum, and recall referendums for Hanam, Jeju, and Gwacheon mayors all failed to exceed the 33.3% opening requirement. This is because it is not easy to draw public interest compared to National Assembly, presidential, and local government elections.

However, as administrative division integration directly impacts residents' lives, there are also forecasts that voter turnout achievement is possible. Ultimately, voter turnout becomes the biggest variable in integration.