Seoul Metropolitan Council to Elect 10 Standing Committee Chairs at 2 PM on 14th... Two Chairs Each from Yangcheon-gu, Geumcheon-gu, and Eunpyeong-gu Elected, Criticism Arises Over Western District Dominance
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Seoul city council members from the western districts of Seoul, including Yangcheon-gu, Geumcheon-gu, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Eunpyeong-gu, and Guro-gu, have monopolized the chairmanships of the standing committees in the latter half of the 10th Seoul City Council, sparking criticism.
On the 14th, the Seoul City Council held a Democratic Party members' general meeting at 10 a.m., where Floor Leader Jo Sang-ho finalized nine candidates for standing committee chairpersons.
About a month earlier, third-term council members gathered to elect Kim Jeong-tae, Chair of the Steering Committee (Yeongdeungpo-gu), and Jo Sang-ho, Floor Leader (Seodaemun-gu).
Accordingly, with the election of Chair Kim In-ho and Vice Chairs Kim Ki-duk and Kim Kwang-su, Floor Leader Jo Sang-ho proceeded to allocate the standing committee chairpersons for the latter half of the 10th term, presenting the candidates to the council members for selection on that day.
However, regarding the candidates proposed by Floor Leader Jo, it was reported that council members strongly protested, saying, "Is such a committee chair allocation acceptable?"
Eight council members raised objections at the general meeting, questioning, "Can chairpersons be monopolized by representatives from specific regions?"
This is because Woo Hyung-chan, Chair of the Transportation Committee, and Kim Hee-geol, Chair of the Urban Planning and Management Committee, are from Yangcheon-gu; Chae In-mook, Chair of the Planning and Economy Committee, and Choi Ki-chan, Chair of the Education Committee, are from Geumcheon-gu; and Lee Hyun-chan, Chair of the Administration and Autonomy Committee, and Sung Heum-je, Chair of the Urban Safety Committee, are from Eunpyeong-gu.
In particular, criticism has intensified as the popular committees among council members, the Transportation Committee and the Urban Planning and Management Committee, are chaired by members from Yangcheon-gu.
Excluding the Steering Committee Chair, six out of nine standing committee chairpersons are from Yangcheon-gu, Geumcheon-gu, and Eunpyeong-gu.
Additionally, Geumcheon-gu has only two council members, yet both hold standing committee chair positions, drawing criticism from other members for the lack of fair distribution criteria for committee chairmanships.
Therefore, it is considered understandable that council members protested.
In this 10th term's latter half council, 11 autonomous districts, including Chair Kim In-ho (Dongdaemun-gu), Vice Chair Kim Ki-duk (Mapo-gu), Vice Chair Kim Kwang-su (Dobong-gu), Chair Kim Jeong-hwan of the Environment and Water Resources Committee (Dongjak), Chair Hwang Gyu-bok of the Culture, Sports, and Tourism Committee (Guro), and Chair Lee Young-sil of the Health and Welfare Committee (Jungnang), secured positions as chairpersons, vice chairs, steering committee chair, or standing committee chairs. Meanwhile, 14 districts?Jongno-gu, Jung-gu, Yongsan-gu, Seongdong-gu, Gwangjin-gu, Seongbuk-gu, Gangbuk-gu, Nowon-gu, Gangseo-gu, Gwanak-gu, Seocho-gu, Gangnam-gu, Songpa-gu, and Gangdong-gu?failed to produce any standing committee chairpersons.
The allocation of standing committee chairs centered on the northwestern region has inevitably caused feelings of alienation in other areas.
There are also many remarks about favoritism regarding the appointment of first-term standing committee chairs.
Because of this, the current allocation of standing committee chairs is widely regarded as a complete failure.
A Seoul city council member criticized, "Standing committee chairs should be distributed not only by experience and age but also by region, and in this regard, it seems to have failed."
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