Park Chae-a, Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly Member Candidate, "Youth Enterprises and Infertile Couples Must Be Prioritized"

Running for Gwangyeok Council Member in Gyeongsan District 3 in Upcoming Local Election After 4 Years as Youth Gwangyeok Proportional Representative

Park Chae-ah, the People Power Party candidate for Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly, is smiling brightly while introducing her campaign promises. Photo by Yeo Jong-gu jisu5819@

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yeo Jong-gu] Park Chae-a, a member of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly, is graduating from proportional representation and will challenge the Gwangyeok Assembly member seat in Gyeongsan District 3 in the nationwide simultaneous local elections this June.

He entered the Gyeongbuk Assembly as a young proportional representative at the age of 31 four years ago, and this time he secured a regional constituency for the Gwangyeok Assembly member.

He is known for his gentle leadership that resonates well among assembly members, but institutions under his supervision find it tough as if meeting the Grim Reaper because he is an expert in budgeting and accounting. If local governments or public funds are to be wasted, it is difficult to avoid this 'tough guy's' sharp sense regarding budgets.

Currently a proportional representative member of the Gyeongbuk Provincial Assembly, candidate Park has been active in the Planning and Economy Committee for the past four years but said he will not lose the initial determination he had as a female youth representative. He recently met with him, who is fully committed to creating a 'livable Gyeongbuk' and a 'Gyeongbuk where youth stay' together with local youth.

Candidate Park, whom we met at his campaign office on the 21st, was born in Gyeongsan, Gyeongbuk, and confidently said he knows well the characteristics of Gyeongbuk, having attended elementary, middle, high school, and university there.

He passed the 50th Certified Tax Accountant exam in 2013 during his university years and currently runs a tax accountant office. Over the past four years, he has made a name for himself as the youngest youth and female assembly member in Gyeongbuk.

Park said that his initial interest in politics began vaguely while watching National Assembly members' hearings on TV during his university days.

He said with a slight smile, "Interest in politics led to the challenge, and eventually, I became a professional politician at an early age as if by fate."

Being a tax expert made him different. He scrutinized the budgets and accounts of Gyeongbuk Province and its affiliated investment and foundation institutions, digging through mountains of documents, and the supervised institutions essentially met a 'Grim Reaper' in him.

Candidate Park said, "During my legislative period, I dealt very strongly with accounting issues of Gyeongbuk Province's affiliated institutions, but since it was all taxpayers' money, I had no choice but to respond firmly."

During administrative audits, he focused mainly on tax and accounting monitoring but also paid much attention to ordinances in normal times.

He introduced the ordinances he led in legislation.

▲ Fostering and supporting youth enterprises in Gyeongbuk ▲ Student commuting support by Gyeongbuk Provincial Office of Education ▲ Installation and operation of public parking lots for construction machinery ▲ Support for cultural and artistic creative spaces ▲ Promotion of Gyeongsangbuk-do eSports ▲ Operation and management of Gyeongbuk natural recreation forests ▲ Collection of natural recreation forest facility usage fees ▲ Management and operation of Poplar Scholarship Fund, totaling 15 ordinances.

Candidate Park picked three memorable achievements from his legislative activities.

First, "During the relocation of the provincial office from Daegu to Gyeongbuk, a book caf? was completed, and it was naturally thought to be tax-exempt, so value-added tax (VAT) was not considered. While reviewing documents, I discovered that VAT was not refunded, and together with the responsible official, we reclaimed 25 million KRW in VAT that had not been received and returned it to Gyeongbuk Province," he recalled.

The second was securing school buses for elementary students to ensure their safety. He empathized, saying, "What must have been the feelings of parents sending their children to school in what is commonly called a barren land, where about 25% of residents are sex offenders," and arranged for school buses.

Candidate Park introduced that despite opposition from the education office, which said, "If we support one school, we have to support others as well," he persistently persuaded them for two years and established implementation rules and budgets in a one-stop process. "Now, children happily ride the school buses to and from school," he smiled.

The third was, "As a female youth assembly member, youth interests inevitably become my own interests." He said, "As a result of efforts to prioritize youth startups, employment, and preferential participation of youth enterprises in public contracts, good results were achieved."

He said that if he re-enters the provincial assembly, "The first thing I want to do is create an educational environment where infertile couples do not worry about hospital expenses and dual-income couples can focus on work with peace of mind."

He pointed out that the biggest worry for infertile couples is not only the low birth success rate of about 30% during procedures but also the high cost of procedures, which often leaves dual-income couples unsupported in blind spots. Candidate Park emphasized, "The state must take responsibility and support infertile couples so they can undergo procedures without worrying about hospital bills."

Light or sometimes serious pledges also flowed out as traces of considerations from his legislative experience.

▲ Construction of children's libraries by region ▲ Creation of children's playgrounds (indoor playgrounds, water playgrounds) ▲ Provision of youth spaces ▲ Matching university students with villages to revitalize vibrant rural communities ▲ Establishment of Gyeongsan City camping site ▲ Operation of children's night emergency rooms ▲ Creation of national gardens ▲ Holding citizen meetings twice a year ▲ Construction of Gyeongsan Convention Center ▲ Relocation near Gyeongbuk Technopark IC were set as pledges.

Candidate Park concluded by saying that although he has run tirelessly for the past four years, he wants to run vigorously for another four years.