Kim Dae-gi on 'Gimpo Seoul Incorporation' Vice Principal Rumors: "False Report... Not Hasty"

Ruling Party Presents Opinion, Government's Acceptance Plan Possibility Called "False Report, We Didn't Know Either"
"Administrative Districts Are Neither in the Constitution Nor Heaven-Ordained... They Can Always Change"

Kim Dae-gi, Chief Secretary to the President, dismissed on the 7th the possibility of prior coordination between the ruling party and the presidential office regarding the People Power Party's plan to incorporate Gimpo into Seoul, saying, "That is not the case." Kim added about this party stance, "Administrative districts can always change if society changes significantly."

On the same day, during the National Assembly's Steering Committee's audit of the presidential office, Kim responded to a question from Kim Han-gyu, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking, "Can we see the incorporation of Gimpo into Seoul as a plan proposed by the ruling party and accepted by the government, and thus promoted by the Yoon Seok-yeol administration?"

Kim Dae-gi, Chief of Staff to the President, is attending the National Assembly Steering Committee's audit on the Presidential Secretariat, National Security Office, and Presidential Security Service held on the 7th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

In particular, when asked, "There was a report that the incorporation of Gimpo into Seoul was a result of coordination with the presidential office. Is that false reporting?" he emphasized, "It seems to be false reporting," and added, "We did not know about it either."

However, he refuted the characterization of the plan as hasty. Kim said, "Saying it is hasty just because the party and government did not consult is not accurate," and responded, "Administrative districts are not stipulated in the constitution nor are they divinely ordained. If society changes significantly, things that existed decades ago can always change."

Meanwhile, Cho Kyung-tae, chairman of the People Power Party's 'New City Project Special Committee' (hereafter Special Committee), held the first meeting of the Special Committee at the National Assembly on the same day and stated, "Seoul will serve as a catalyst to realize the 'Seoul-Busan-Gwangju three-axis megacity' and further create a super-regional megacity connecting Daejeon and Daegu, and we will do our best efforts to achieve this." Cho explained, "There should be one or two visible achievements by the end of the year," and added, "By December, whether through a special law or a general law, we will prepare it with a sense of urgency." He further elaborated, "We are considering whether to include only one or two specific areas or three to four areas in the bill promoting Seoul incorporation."

Originally, the Special Committee started under the tentative name 'Special Committee for Improving the Convenience of Residents in the Capital Region' to promote the incorporation of Gimpo into Seoul. However, the day before, People Power Party leader Kim Ki-hyun indicated nationwide expansion by stating, "If non-capital regions express their willingness to develop megacities serving as regional hubs, we will consider it."