Over 15 Nationwide Tours with Trillion-Won Pledges
To Truly Address Livelihood, Must Talk About Prices and Common People's Issues
Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon lamented that President Yoon Seok-yeol, serving as the ruling party's election campaign head ahead of the April general election, is engaging in money politics and election manipulation. Regarding the Democratic Party's candidate nominations for the April general election, he expressed regret that such issues have arisen at a time when a judgment on the administration should be made.
Furthermore, he dismissed the incorporation of Gimpo City into Seoul as a 'political show' ahead of the general election and announced that the ‘The Gyeonggi Pass,’ which offers more benefits to Gyeonggi residents than Seoul’s ‘Climate Cooperation Card,’ will be introduced in May.
In a phone interview on April 8 with SBS’s Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show, Governor Kim said, "President Yoon is currently traveling across the country more than 15 times, distributing promises worth nearly one quadrillion won," and criticized, "Last year, our tax revenue shortfall was 56 trillion won, yet there has been no review, and I don’t know where the money for this is supposed to come from."
He added, "The nearly one quadrillion won worth of giveaway promises being made nationwide is a clear case of election manipulation, and it seems as if the president is acting like the ruling party’s campaign headquarters chief."
He particularly criticized, "All the current livelihood discussion meetings and such are just political shows," and questioned, "If you want to properly address people’s livelihoods, you should talk about fruit prices, inflation, and the lives of ordinary citizens, not go to regions and promise nearly one quadrillion won in regional development pledges. Is that really about people’s livelihoods?"
Regarding his recent visit with former President Moon Jae-in, Governor Kim said, "We talked a lot about the reality and future of the Republic of Korea," and introduced, "There was also a request for me to take on a bigger role."
On the recent nomination controversies within the Democratic Party, he indirectly expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "As I have said several times, we need to judge the administration, but now the nomination evaluation has come up, which worries me," and "I cannot understand what the criteria for nomination rejection are."
Governor Kim claimed about Gimpo City’s incorporation into Seoul, "I don’t know what preparations or reviews were made," and stated, "This directly goes against the country’s long-standing policies of balanced national development and local decentralization."
He emphasized, "It is nothing but a land division for election purposes, and with just a little thought, one can quickly judge how absurd and wrong this is, and whether it is a political show ahead of the election," adding, "I believe it will be a self-inflicted wound for the ruling party."
Regarding ‘The Gyeonggi Pass’ to be introduced in May, Governor Kim said, "It will provide Gyeonggi residents with far more benefits than Seoul’s Climate Cooperation Card," and stressed, "For example, the Climate Cooperation Card only applies to Seoul’s buses and subways, excluding metropolitan buses and the Shinbundang Line, but The Gyeonggi Pass will be applicable to all public transportation nationwide, including metropolitan buses and the Shinbundang Line, and the scale of benefits is also larger."
However, he also expressed his intention to continue discussions with Seoul, Incheon, and other cities regarding related issues for the convenience of residents.
Finally, when asked about views that see Governor Kim Dong-yeon as a challenger to Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung in the party’s primary for the next presidential election, he avoided a direct answer, saying, "Now is not the time to talk about that," and "The general election a month away is what matters now."
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