Ha Tae-kyung: "'Gimpo Seoul Annexation' Cheongong Conspiracy Theory, an Outrageous Plot"

Regarding the ruling party's push for Gimpo City's incorporation into Seoul, Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, criticized the Democratic Party of Korea's claim of a 'Cheongong conspiracy theory' as a "heinous and outrageous conspiracy theory."

On the 2nd, Ha said on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' program, "The Democratic Party is going a bit too far. They claim that Cheongong is behind this," expressing his criticism.

Hataekyung, Chairman of the People Power Party's Task Force for the Investigation of the Shooting Incident of the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries Officials, is announcing the investigation results at the National Assembly on the 6th. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Park Chan-dae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, referred to a lecture video by Cheongong containing the idea that 'Gyeonggi Province and Seoul should be merged' during the National Assembly Supreme Council meeting the previous day, raising suspicions by saying, "Doesn't Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, advocating for Gimpo's incorporation into Seoul, and Cheongong's claim for merging Gyeonggi Province and Seoul naturally connect?"

However, Ha explained that the incorporation of Gimpo City into Seoul is already an issue mentioned within the local community. He said, "The idea first came up in the Gimpo area, and former lawmaker Hong Cheol-ho, who was a former member of the National Assembly for Gimpo-eul and a committee chairman, has been continuously discussing it," adding, "So our secretariat also thought it was a good idea and was preparing for it. I was somewhat aware of it, and that's why it has come out at this time."

Having declared his candidacy for Seoul after leaving his stronghold in Haeundae, when asked by the host if he had decided on his electoral district, he said, "After reviewing the situation, I felt that our party's approval ratings were dropping too much, and raising the basic support rate should be my priority, so rather than playing solo, I am currently planning team play with other metropolitan area committee chairs," adding, "We had a meeting with non-incumbent committee chairs this week, and we plan to continue a project called the Metropolitan Public Sentiment Recovery Project."

Regarding the reason for the decline in approval ratings, he said, "The vertical relationship within the Yongsan Party needs to be corrected," adding, "The party should operate more like a democracy than a military, and in peacetime, it should function somewhat like a civic organization."

He also expressed concerns about 'prosecutor nominations.' Ha said, "Therefore, I hope the Innovation Committee will address this by announcing that anyone from the presidential office or former prosecutors will be excluded from strategic nominations and must go through primaries without exception."