The government will provide up to 40 trillion won ($27.2 billion) to support merger plans to turn four local governments into two so-called integrated special cities as part of the Lee Jae Myung administration’s push to strengthen regional development and decentralization. Prime Minister Kim Min-seok announced the plan during a press briefing in Seoul, Friday, saying the government would provide up to 5 trillion won a year for up to four years to each integrated special city formed through administrative mergers. The announcement comes as Gwangju and South Jeolla Province, as well as Daejeon and South Chungcheong Province, are seeking administrative integration, a step that would reshape local governance and carry political implications ahead of local elections in June. “Local governments that merge will be given clear incentives and a matching level of autonomy and responsibility,” Kim said, “Balanced regional development is not a policy meant to favor certain regions but a survival strategy for the country’s future.” Under the government’s plan, integrated special cities