The plan to integrate the southeastern city of Daegu and surrounding North Gyeongsang Province has failed, the mayor of Daegu, Hong Joon-pyo, declared Tuesday.

Hong said in a social media posting that "it would be hard to expect consent from the provincial assembly of North Gyeongsang Province" for the proposed integration of the local governments.

The Daegu mayor had set a Wednesday deadline for his latest proposal, which calls for the establishment of unified provincial government offices in Daegu, Andong and Pohang.

Members of the North Gyeongsang provincial assembly reportedly called for the establishment of such offices only in Daegu and Andong, while strongly criticizing the leaders of Daegu and the province for what they called a "hasty" decision to unify the two without public approval.

Hong made his initial proposal for integration in May, about three years after the latest attempt to integrate the two local governments, launched in 2019, ended in 2021.

Hong and North Gyeongsang Province Gov. Lee Cheol-woo had agreed in June to form a unified government by July 2026 after securing approval from the city council of Daegu and the provincial assembly. (Yonhap)