Local Autonomy Law
A specific city is a municipal city that has a population greater than 500,000 and has been designated as such by an order of the national government under Article 175 of the Local Autonomy Law. Specific cities are given powers to subdivide themselves into non-autonomous districts (; ) but, not all specific cities are subdivided into non-autonomous districts such as Bucheon, Gimhae, Hwaseong, or Namyangju. Currently, South Korea has a total of 15 Specific cities.