Lim Ho-seon, “When Cheongju was designated as a special city, the growth engine of the city and county was completely lost.”

(Cheongju = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Hyeong-woo = On the 6th, National Assembly member Lim Ho-seon of the Democratic Party of Korea (Jeungpyeong, Jincheon, Eumseong, North Chungcheong Province) argued regarding the push for designation of Cheongju City as a special city, saying, "It is a distortion of autonomy that only accelerates the enlargement of Cheongju City while ignoring the coexistence of the entire North Chungcheong Province."

Representative Lim wrote on his Facebook page that day, “What North Chungcheong Province needs now is not a special city that concentrates authority and financial resources on one city, but the establishment of a win-win balanced development system that can prosper together with the county region that is on the verge of extinction.”

He argued, "Cheongju City's population is more than 53% of the entire North Chungcheong Province, and its Gross Regional Product (GRDP) share is about half of the entire province. If Cheongju City is designated as a special city and monopolizes special licensing, the growth engine of the other 10 cities and counties will be completely lost, and the risk of population extinction will accelerate."

He also said, “Special cities are requesting that the city/county adjustment grant distribution rate be increased from the current 47% to 67%,” and “If the proportion going to Cheongju City is expanded, the available financial resources of North Chungcheong Province to be distributed to county areas with weak financial independence will be directly reduced.”

Cheongju City is requesting a revision to the Local Autonomy Act to lower the population standard for special cases in non-metropolitan areas, saying that as administrative demand is large as a central city in the industrial, economic, and transportation sectors, appropriate authority is needed.