Ulsan, Gyeongju push to form unified living and economic zone

Ulsan and Gyeongju — neighboring cities so close they share the same East Sea sunrise, a bond reflected in their alliance name "Haeoeum" — are moving closer to forming a single integrated living zone.

Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-uk and Gyeongju Mayor Ju Nak-young met at Ulsan City Hall on Thursday and agreed to work together to resolve shared challenges standing in the way of merging the two cities into one living and economic zone.

Mayor Ju proposed cooperation on five fronts: building a broad metropolitan rail network linking northern Ulsan with Gyeongju and Pohang; reforming the regulatory regime to allow city gas supply to eastern Gyeongju; widening National Route 7 between the Ulsan city boundary and Oedon-g, Gyeongju from four to six lanes; accelerating construction of a four-lane national road between Nongso, Ulsan and Oedon-g, Gyeongju; and extending Ulsan city bus routes to Gampo in Gyeongju.

Mayor Kim agreed, saying, "Administration exists for citizens, and administrative boundaries must not make it harder for residents to get around and live their lives."

Supplying city gas to eastern Gyeongju is complicated by current law, which sets separate supply zones for each local government, making it illegal for a Ulsan operator to supply gas to Gyeongju territory. The two mayors agreed Thursday to push for an amendment that would allow neighboring cities and provinces to share pipeline networks by mutual consent, and to open working-level talks between Ulsan's Kyungdong City Gas and Gyeongju's Seorabeol City Gas.

Eastern Gyeongju areas including Yangnam currently have no city gas service. Routing a pipeline through Oedon-g, Gyeongju would require 21 kilometers of new pipe to reach Yangnam at a cost of 10 billion won ($7.24 million), but using the existing network in Jeongja, Buk-gu, Ulsan would cut the new construction to just 2.3 kilometers on the Ulsan side and 11.2 kilometers on the Gyeongju side, reducing the project cost to 5.5 billion won.

Gyeongju also asked that Ulsan city bus route 742 be extended 33.4 kilometers beyond its current terminus at Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant in Yangnam-myeon, Gyeongju, all the way to Gampo. Mayor Kim instructed the relevant departments to incorporate the extension into Ulsan's ongoing bus route restructuring plan.

The two mayors said they would cooperate to have the broad metropolitan rail network project and other initiatives included in the central government's fifth national railway network development plan and metropolitan transport implementation plan, noting the importance of such projects for improving commuter conditions and transport convenience for workers traveling between the two cities.

Mayor Kim urged Gyeongju's active support for Ulsan's bid to host a proposed Energy Resources Corporation — a tentatively named entity that would merge Korea National Oil Corporation and Korea Gas Corporation.

If the Energy Resources Corporation were established in Ulsan, both cities stand to benefit from a synergy: Gyeongju, home to Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power's headquarters and a strong nuclear power project base, and Ulsan, which hosts the country's largest concentration of energy state enterprises, would together form the nation's premier energy hub.

Mayor Ju said he agreed that bringing the Energy Resources Corporation to Ulsan was necessary not only for the efficient management of national energy resources and stronger international competitiveness, but also for linking the East Sea energy industry and fostering balanced development between the two regions.

The two mayors said Thursday's meeting had reinforced their commitment to strengthening the Haeoeum alliance — a small-scale regional cooperation model in which neighboring cities genuinely share a common living zone — alongside broader cooperation across the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang region.

Mayor Kim said the alliance, built on geographic and industrial ties, must deliver tangible benefits to residents of both cities. "Let's bring Pohang into the room soon and work out more concrete plans for wide-area cooperation," he said.