Lee Jae-myung's Side: "Lee Nak-yeon Held a 'High Position' but 'Competence' Is a Separate Matter" (Summary)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] On the 1st, Lee Jae-myung’s Open Camp directly targeted former Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Nak-yeon, stating, “It is a meaningful debate to verify which candidate is more competent in the primary,” and emphasized, “There must be a clear distinction between who held a higher position and who is more competent.”

Park Jin-young, spokesperson for the Open Camp, criticized former leader Lee for having no ‘achievements’ or ‘performance.’ Park said, “The position of ‘party leader’ might be like wielding a butcher’s knife,” and attacked Lee by saying, “To put it metaphorically, he is someone who lost the cattle of Seoul mayor and Busan mayor.” He added, “He was inadequate in the initial response to the LH and real estate scandals, which ultimately resulted in defeats in the Seoul and Busan by-elections where he himself served as the election committee chairman.”

Park also stated, “There were many party members who left due to his wavering stance on former President Park Geun-hye’s pardon remarks and the prosecution reform push,” and concluded, “He cannot be called a successful party leader.”

Regarding former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon’s proposal to establish Gyeonggi Buk-do (Northern Gyeonggi Province), Representative Hong Jeong-min criticized it as “a shortsighted claim made with election considerations, while regional balance should come first.” Earlier, on the morning of the 30th of last month, Lee held a ‘Roundtable on National Balanced Development and Gyeonggi Province Division’ at the Gyeonggi Northern Government Complex Peace Square located in Uijeongbu City, stating, “There is a need to divide Gyeonggi Province and establish Gyeonggi Buk-do due to the long-term relative underdevelopment of northern Gyeonggi.” He added, “If the Northern Region Peace Economic Belt strategy connecting northern Gyeonggi and Gangwon is actively promoted, it will be possible to achieve both regional economic revitalization and balanced development.”

Representative Hong acknowledged, “It is true that the northern Gyeonggi region has relatively lagged behind the southern part,” but explained, “Development has been hindered by overlapping regulations under the ‘Capital Region Readjustment Act’ and the ‘Military Protection Act.’” He added that even if Gyeonggi Buk-do is established, regulations will not be lifted.

Hong further stated, “If Gyeonggi Buk-do is separated while its fiscal independence remains low, Gyeonggi Province’s budget will concentrate in the southern region, likely widening the gap between north and south,” and criticized, “The claim to establish Gyeonggi Buk-do urgently to secure votes ahead of the presidential election ignores practical constraints and rather goes against regional balanced development.”

He also emphasized, “Compared to the industrially developed south, the north has poor SOC (social overhead capital),” and explained, “Under the current preliminary feasibility study system, investments will inevitably continue to flow more into the south where the floating population is larger.” He supplemented that as of December 2019, the gross regional domestic product of northern Gyeonggi was 92 trillion won, whereas southern Gyeonggi reached 360 trillion won.