Tension Over Former Jeonbuk Governor Kim Kwan-young's Attendance
"6 Years Wasted" vs "Still Blaming Previous Government After 1 Year 3 Months"
Yong Hye-in on Lee Man-hee's Exit: "Please Listen to Me... Was Disruption the Goal?"
The plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee, scheduled for the 16th to address current issues related to the 'Osong Underpass Disaster' and the 'World Scout Jamboree Disruption,' was disrupted about 30 minutes after it began. The ruling and opposition parties clashed over the attendance of Kim Gwan-young, Governor of Jeonbuk Province and Jamboree Executive Chairman, at the National Assembly. The People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the meeting, with only Lee Man-hee, the committee secretary, attending to make a procedural statement before leaving, arguing, "Discussing the Jamboree without the Jeonbuk governor seems like an attempt to shift all responsibility onto the Yoon Seok-yeol administration." Meanwhile, the Democratic Party criticized, "Today's session should address the Osong disaster, flood-related calamities, and violent crimes," and questioned, "Is this an attempt to blame the previous government and Jeonbuk for the Jamboree incident?"
On the 16th, before the Public Administration and Security Committee meeting held at the National Assembly, Lee Man-hee, the ruling party's floor leader, and Kang Byung-won, the opposition party's floor leader, are seen turning away after a conversation. The full meeting of the committee was scheduled to conduct urgent inquiries related to the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree disruption incident, but it was disrupted. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
On that day, Secretary Lee Man-hee, during his procedural statement at the Public Administration and Security Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly, questioned, "Many suspicions regarding the Jeonbuk governor, whose attendance our party requested, have already been raised in the media. Why was the Jamboree, which centers on camping, designated to be held on a mudflat unsuitable for camping from the start?"
He added, "Why was a muddy camping facility constructed without proper infrastructure after wasting six years?" and pointed out, "According to the media, there were 99 overseas inspections related to the Jamboree, and 80 of those were to Buan County in Jeonbuk." He then asked, "What is the reason for Governor Kim Gwan-young's absence? Does it make sense not to discuss the Jamboree at today's meeting?"
Opposition party Secretary Kang Byung-won retorted, "There are multiple responsible parties for the Jamboree incident, but it has been just over three months since this administration took charge. Yet, through procedural statements, we can see that they are still trying to evade and shift responsibility by blaming the previous government and Jeonbuk."
He criticized, "Not only ruling party members but also the Minister of the Interior and Safety and related agencies did not attend, making it difficult to conduct the committee normally," and added, "They are only obstructing to protect the Yoon administration and the Minister of the Interior and Safety, who are being criticized for the Jamboree disruption."
He continued, "This meeting was for the people suffering from the Osong disaster, flood calamities, and violent crimes, who are eagerly awaiting solutions," and pointed out, "There are many bills related to people's livelihoods pending. Despite holding five-plus-five meetings between the ruling and opposition parties on flood-related issues and agreeing to pass related laws, I cannot understand why they are giving up on this to turn it into a political conflict."
After the opposition secretary finished speaking and left, Representative Yong Hye-in, who took over the procedural statement, sighed and said, "Listen to what I have to say before you leave."
Representative Yong said, "The ruling party is obscuring the essence by politically weighing the national tragedy of the Osong disaster and the Jamboree incident and diverting attention," and sharply criticized, "The secretary who disrupted the meeting to block the attendance of agency heads and the People Power Party should be ashamed."
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