[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Kim Eun-hye, a member of the People Power Party who challenged the Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial primary, announced on the 11th that she would dismantle the "citizen society interest cartel."
On the morning of the same day in front of Seoul City Hall, Rep. Kim said, "I want to eliminate the malpractices that local governments in South Korea are experiencing," adding, "Those malpractices are precisely the 'citizen group interest cartel.'"
She pointed out, "In last year's Seoul mayoral by-election, the People Power Party reclaimed the position by an overwhelming margin. At that time, Mayor Oh Se-hoon criticized the inappropriate dealings between Seoul City and citizen groups," adding, "Over the past decade, the amount of money given to citizen groups under the name of private subsidies and consignment funds has reached 1 trillion won, and there are various issues with how these funds were executed. The consignment institutions were managed recklessly." Rep. Kim said, "There was a time when civic movements contributed to our society, and the lives of civic activists were once exemplary," but raised her voice, saying, "Now, citizen groups colluding with state power are no longer the 'subjects' of oversight but the 'objects' of oversight."
She said, "The public must have clearly seen the true face of pro-government citizen groups over the past five years," criticizing, "Women's organizations remained silent in the face of the Democratic Party's sexual misconduct." She continued, "Some citizen groups that selectively dispense justice are so obsessed with protecting the Democratic Party that it is confusing whether they are citizen groups or subordinate organizations of the Democratic Party," and condemned, "All the causes stem from the interest cartel between the Democratic Party and citizen groups."
Rep. Kim stated, "The interest cartel must be dismantled," and said, "If I am elected governor of Gyeonggi Province, I will conduct a full investigation of citizen groups supported by Gyeonggi Province's taxpayers' money." She added, "I will also verify the validity of future support projects through experts and strive for transparent accounting management and objective evaluation of projects," and said, "If support projects are inadequate or lack results, penalties will be imposed on individuals and organizations."
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