Citizens say, "We don't understand asking irrelevant questions beyond the city administration inquiry"
"Regardless of party, stop biased questions and emotional behavior"
On the 8th, during the 3rd plenary session of the 132nd extraordinary meeting held at the main chamber of Changwon Special City Council in Gyeongnam, a heated exchange of voices occurred during the municipal administration questioning.
This happened because a video suddenly played raising suspicions about a meeting between the representative of the company that lost the 4th public contest for the Masan Marine New City private complex development project, which has been stalled for years, and a person who was reported to the election commission for violating election laws and received a suspended sentence in the first trial.
Jin Hyung-ik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who raised the municipal administration question, requested Mayor Hong Nam-pyo as the respondent and asked about the lawsuits related to the Masan Marine New City development project and future plans.
During this, the video was played, and Mayor Hong expressed discomfort saying, “Why are you playing that video? It’s not related,” but the video continued to play until the end.
After the video ended, Representative Jin said, “Why do you think the private business operator met the accuser? Isn’t the private business operator the one making sacrifices?” and added, “I ask because I cannot understand.”
In response, Mayor Hong said, “Why are you asking me why the accuser met the business operator?” “What kind of question is this?” and “This is a question meant to embarrass me,” protesting strongly before stopping his answer and returning to his seat.
Eventually, voices of protest erupted from the council seats as well, and loud exchanges and finger-pointing occurred between ruling and opposition party members.
The situation only calmed down after Moon Soon-gyu, the vice chairman who was presiding over the meeting in place of Chairman Kim Yi-geun who could not attend due to schedule conflicts, declared a recess.
At the 3rd plenary session of the 132nd extraordinary meeting of the Changwon Special City Council in Gyeongnam, Mayor Hong Nampyo (left) is rebutting a policy question from Jin Hyungik, a member of the Democratic Party. [Photo by Changwon City Council Internet Broadcasting]
Earlier, Mayor Hong and Representative Jin clashed once over the cause of Changwon City's loss in the appellate trial of the lawsuit filed by the company that lost the 4th public contest for Masan Marine New City against Changwon City regarding the non-selection as the preferred negotiator, and over future responses.
Representative Jin said, “Although we won in the first trial and administrative appeal, the audit materials submitted by the auditor worked unfavorably, causing us to lose in the second trial,” and added, “The 5th public contest business operator who opposed the Changwon City audit results was accused of defamation and other charges, and the auditor submitted unfavorable materials to the court causing the lawsuit to be lost. Therefore, the content and purpose of the auditor’s audit cannot be trusted.”
He also said, “The mayor of Changwon City is obsessed with blaming the previous administration, and it seems that the decisions made by the stakeholders at the time, not the interests of Changwon City or the lawsuit outcome, are what caused the loss.”
In response, Mayor Hong said, “I believe the court made its decision based on substantive truth, not on materials submitted by the auditor,” and “The court requested the materials, we submitted them, and the court made its judgment after reviewing them.”
He added, “The auditor conducted the audit confidently based on related laws, public contest guidelines, and documents related to the decision-making process, not just on words,” and “The auditor did not make the decision alone; the audit committee objectively reviewed the materials and made the final decision.”
He continued, “The documents contain who made the decisions and what was said,” and “That itself is the fact that existed at the time, and the court judged based on this.”
“Truth winning means Changwon City winning,” he emphasized, “Do not force us to win by hiding facts.”
Regarding the decision to appeal to the Supreme Court after losing, he explained, “We appealed to receive a transparent judgment and to avoid further disputes,” and “It is more urgent to clarify the substantive truth through court rulings on various suspicions, but we will do our best to win the appeal trial.”
“The Masan Marine New City project is so tangled that we are unraveling the tangled threads one by one,” he said, “We will respond differently depending on the trial results related to the 4th and 5th public contests.”
The plenary session hall of Changwon Special City Council in Gyeongnam, where a recess was declared. [Photo by Changwon City Council Internet Broadcasting]
The two also strongly clashed over the starting point of the ‘tangled threads.’
Representative Jin said, “The current administration is the one tangling the project,” and “Submitting unfavorable materials and calling that the truth while blaming others,” and “The normalization plan is not concrete and they are just stirring up trouble.”
Mayor Hong emphasized, “There are many things to comply with according to the court’s decision and many stakeholders, so immediate decisions cannot be made,” and “Right now, it is just a process of finding the truth, and it is the 7th elected administration that tangled the situation.”
On that day, Representative Jin concluded the municipal administration question by saying, “Whose truth is the truth of Masan Marine New City for?” and “Mayor Hong should honestly disclose and explain that the company that lost the 4th public contest met his accuser for the project to be normalized.”
The scene of Changwon City Council that day was broadcast live through the Changwon City Council website and official YouTube channel.
A citizen who watched this said, “They said they would ask about Changwon City’s position on normalizing the Marine New City, but suddenly played such a video,” and “I cannot understand a city council member who should be making strenuous efforts for Changwon’s development asking irrelevant questions outside the municipal administration question.”
Another citizen said, “I really disliked and was embarrassed by the shouting and fighting,” and “Regardless of party, stop biased questions and emotional behavior.”
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