[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon has postponed his originally scheduled summer vacation.
Gyeonggi Province announced on the 2nd that Governor Kim had planned a vacation from the 3rd to the 5th of this month, but postponed it due to the Gyeonggi Provincial Council being in a state of inactivity after its opening and numerous pressing provincial administrative issues such as livelihood measures.
Earlier that day, Governor Kim appointed Yeom Tae-young, chairman of the Provincial Administrative Advisory Council (former Suwon Mayor), as the Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs, and appointed Kang Sung-chun, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, as chairman of the Administrative Advisory Council.
Governor Kim explained, "Yesterday (the 1st), to proactively respond to the livelihood of residents and the recovery of Gyeonggi's economy at the provincial level, we launched the Gyeonggi Province Special Committee on Livelihood Measures, a public-private policy consultative body. I appointed the Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs promptly because I thought a situation more serious than any past economic crisis could arise."
He also urged the Provincial Council, which has been unable to handle current issues since its opening, to normalize promptly.
Governor Kim said, "I have made various efforts for the opening of the Provincial Council, but recently an unfortunate incident occurred. I express my sincere regret to the leaders of both parties and the Provincial Council. I hope the Provincial Council will normalize as soon as possible so that necessary policies can be implemented in a timely manner."
Meanwhile, since the Provincial Council opened on the 1st of last month, the ruling People Power Party and the Democratic Party of Korea have failed to narrow their differences over the election of the chairperson, resulting in the cancellation of all scheduled openings. As a result, supplementary budgets including support for livelihood measures have not been processed on time.
Amid this situation, former Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs Kim Yong-jin resigned after a controversy arose during a verbal dispute with the leaders of both parties at a dinner on the evening of the 27th of last month, one day before his inauguration, while seeking cooperation on provincial administrative issues.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
