Sung Il-jong: "Is Gimpo's Incorporation into Seoul a General Election Strategy? Roh Moo-hyun Also Used the Sejong City Card"

With the ruling party pushing the 'incorporation of Gimpo City into Seoul' as a party policy ahead of next year's general election, and the opposition criticizing it as a 'move for election purposes,' People Power Party lawmaker Seong Il-jong rebutted, saying, "Did President Roh Moo-hyun not use the Sejong City card?"

On the 1st, Seong said on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' program, "(The Democratic Party) has no right to say such things."

Seong Il-jong, the ruling party secretary of the National Defense Committee, spoke to reporters outside the National Assembly National Defense Committee audit hall held at the Ministry of National Defense in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 10th, discussing the disruption of the audit. The meeting could not even begin as the opposition Democratic Party members placed pickets on every seat demanding the withdrawal of the appointment of Defense Minister Shin Won-sik, and the People Power Party refused to enter the audit hall. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

He pointed out, "The Sejong City card was also played (for presidential election purposes) by our party, so criticizing us for using such a card is inconsistent, isn't it? When they do it, it's always right, but when our party does it, is everything wrong? That is no different from insulting voters or the citizens of Gimpo."

There are also talks that some senior politicians from Yeongnam might run in the metropolitan area in connection with the 'Mega Seoul' strategy. Regarding this, he said, "I don't think it's the right stage for that now. Once the nomination screening committee is formed and various election planning teams are established, those aspects can be strategically considered. Even if that happens, the party will likely approach it scientifically through various forms of public opinion surveys."

He emphasized that it is difficult to talk about 'drafting specific individuals' at this point. Seong said, "Right now, we are in the process of drawing the big picture for the party. It's about how to reform and renew the party and how to approach the public with a changing image. The nomination process is not yet at the starting stage."