Seong-gap Kim, Mayor of Gwangjin-gu, Who Returned 500 Million Won Sewing Budget, Faces Direct Criticism from Gwangjin-gu Councilor and Seoul City Councilor

Gwangjin-gu Council Members Kim Hoigeun, Jang Gyeonghui, and Lee Myeongok Criticized Gwangjin-gu Mayor Kim Seongap at the Temporary Meeting on the 10th; Seoul City Council Members Oh Hyeonjeong and Jeon Byeongju Commented on the 14th, "Gwangjin-gu Should Not Neglect the Crisis-Facing Bongje Workers and Must Find a Way to Develop the Related Industry!"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Gwangjin-gu is in turmoil.

Following criticism by three Gwangjin-gu Council members from the Democratic Party?Kim Hoe-geun, Jang Kyung-hee, and Lee Myung-ok?against Mayor Kim Seon-gap at the Gwangjin-gu Council's extraordinary session held on the 10th regarding Gwangjin-gu's return of 500 million KRW in sewing industry budget to Seoul City, Seoul City Council members Oh Hyun-jung and Jeon Byung-joo, both from Gwangjin-gu, have now issued a statement directly attacking Mayor Kim on the same issue.

Regarding Gwangjin-gu's return of 500 million KRW in sewing industry budget to Seoul City, Oh Hyun-jung and Jeon Byung-joo, Seoul City Council members (Gwangjin-gu, Democratic Party), released a statement on the 14th condemning Gwangjin-gu.

Oh Hyun-jung, Seoul City Council Member

Former Gwangjin-gu council members Oh and Jeon stated, "The Gwangjin-gu Office must clearly investigate the current state of the local sewing industry and establish policies for its development. We condemn the incompetent administration that ignored the desperate demands of sewing workers and returned the budget." They criticized, "The heartbreaking tears of sewing workers, who are fulfilling various public functions amid the COVID-19 crisis, are soaking Gwangjin-gu."

They also revealed, "In August 2020, Gwangjin-gu was selected for the Smart Process Support Project for the clothing manufacturing industry cluster. City funds were to be invested for the creation of a hub facility related to revitalizing the sewing industry. Moreover, Gwangjin-gu had the conditions and infrastructure to apply for the 2021 Smart Anchor Project but did not even submit an application to Seoul City."

Additionally, in October 2020, Gwangjin-gu pushed to relocate the project site to Guui 1-dong, which does not meet the core selection criteria and overlooks Junggok-dong, a cluster area accounting for 65% of the local sewing industry and boasting a long history of clothing manufacturing. However, in February 2021, Seoul City sent an official letter stating that changing the project site to Guui 1-dong, which is not a cluster area, was impossible. Unfortunately, it is known that the Guui 1-dong site Gwangjin-gu intended to relocate to was unsuitable for relocation.

Jeon Byeong-ju, Seoul City Council Member

Oh and Jeon said, "Despite this, Seoul City encouraged Gwangjin-gu to proceed with the project and even extended the budget execution period from the original 3 months to 15 months, but Gwangjin-gu ultimately returned the budget." They criticized, "The administration of Gwangjin-gu, stained with lies and incompetence, is undoubtedly an act of disregarding the residents. If common-sense and proper administration had been carried out according to Seoul City's standards, sewing workers could have saved about 2 to 4 million KRW monthly, and approximately 1.8 billion KRW in budget would have been used for Gwangjin-gu's small business owners. This would have been the foundation for overcoming the COVID-19 crisis."

They continued, "We urge Mayor Kim Seon-gap to devote all efforts to preparing policies for Gwangjin-gu's sewing workers even now, to show a responsible attitude. That is the way to save small business owners and a method to slightly ease the financial difficulties of Gwangjin-gu, which has low fiscal independence." They added, "Going forward, Gwangjin-gu should conduct a survey on the actual conditions of the clothing sewing industry and refrain from returning budget in incompetent administration of city subsidy public projects."

Finally, they concluded, "We hope Mayor Kim Seon-gap will take the lead in developing the sewing industry as a specialized local industry, enhancing the value of the region, and making Gwangjin-gu a place where residents want to live and are happy, not a place they leave. We remind once again that this is the attitude expected of elected public officials."