"Blaming Jamboree Event Disruption"
Press Conference by Jeonbuk Region Democratic Party Lawmakers
"We Will Correct Yoon Government's Retaliatory Budget Cuts"
Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the government's plan to "completely reconsider the Saemangeum reclamation development basic plan" as "budget dictatorship."
On the morning of the 30th, at an on-site Supreme Council meeting held in Muan-gun, Jeollanam-do, Floor Leader Park said, "Unless this is just venting anger beyond blaming Jeollabuk-do for the failure of the Jamboree event, I cannot understand whether cutting 80% of the budget is something possible in a civilized government."
He added, "The Saemangeum development began during the Roh Tae-woo administration, passed through the Kim Dae-jung administration, and has continued for a long time with our earnest desire to achieve balanced national development through the development of the southwestern coastal western region," and said, "If the intention is not to erase the history of Saemangeum, I hope the plan to completely reconsider the Saemangeum plan announced yesterday will itself be completely reconsidered."
It was reported that on the previous day, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo instructed the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the Saemangeum Development Agency to completely reconsider the Saemangeum development.
Democratic Party lawmakers from Jeollabuk-do immediately held a government condemnation press conference at the National Assembly that morning regarding the large-scale budget cuts for Saemangeum. They stated, "The budget for the Saemangeum project has been drastically cut to an unprecedented extent," and criticized, "The Yoon Seok-yeol government and the People Power Party have remained silent in response to the National Assembly's demand to investigate the facts and conduct a fair evaluation, let alone reflect on or apologize for the failure of the Saemangeum Jamboree." They continued, "Instead, they have been desperately trying to evade responsibility by blaming the previous administration, Jeollabuk-do, and Saemangeum, ultimately shifting the blame onto Saemangeum, which is not at fault," and declared, "We solemnly condemn the obstinate and petty Yoon government and the People Power Party, gathering the will of 1.8 million Jeollabuk-do residents."
At the end of May, the budget request submitted by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and other ministries to the Ministry of Economy and Finance included a total of 738.9 billion KRW for 24 Saemangeum-related projects, but the government budget announced the previous day reflected only 186.1 billion KRW, about 25% of that amount. It was explained that 552.8 billion KRW, accounting for 75%, was cut during the Ministry of Economy and Finance's review process.
They said, "Where is Yoon Seok-yeol, who promised Jeollabuk-do residents during the last presidential election to designate Saemangeum as an international investment promotion organization and to start early construction of Saemangeum International Airport to build the 'Saemangeum Triport' including airport, port, and railway?" and emphasized, "We warn the Yoon Seok-yeol government and the People Power Party to immediately stop their shameless and brazen behavior of blaming Jeollabuk-do and Saemangeum for the failure of the Saemangeum Jamboree and to restore the Saemangeum project budget to its original state."
Furthermore, they stated, "All Democratic Party lawmakers from Jeollabuk-do will ensure that the retaliatory budget cuts by the Yoon government are corrected during the National Assembly's review process of next year's government budget," and added, "We will not tolerate any attempts to kill Jeollabuk-do, and we will never overlook acts that damage the value and vision of Saemangeum due to the failure of the Saemangeum Jamboree."
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