After the Asan City Council plenary session on the 28th, a pointed statement directed at the Democratic Party
On the 28th, Park Kyung-gwi, Mayor of Asan City, held a press conference and made a resolute statement, urging to "stop the political and malicious framing" regarding the various allegations raised against him.
Park Kyung-gwi, Mayor of Asan City, made a resolute statement urging to "stop the political and malicious framing" regarding various allegations raised against him.
On the 28th, immediately after the 3rd plenary session of the 249th 1st regular meeting, Mayor Park held an emergency press conference and systematically refuted the claims made by Democratic Party council members during the plenary session.
On that day, the Asan City Council held a plenary session where council members Shin Mijin, Cheon Cheolho, Myung Nobong, Kim Eunbok, and Kim Miseong delivered five-minute speeches.
The five-minute speeches mainly contained critical content about city administration, such as "Asan-type Tong, Asan is uncommunicative," "Asan City rampant with special favors, abolish Asan Cultural Foundation," "Do you know about sports administration?," "Dream of being a top instructor? Urging improvement of academy operations," and "The appointment of the CEO of Asan Cultural Foundation should be reconsidered," with some audience members applauding and cheering.
The rules of the Asan City Council prohibit openly expressing approval or disapproval or applauding during speeches in the meeting hall.
After the five-minute speeches, Mayor Park voluntarily held a press conference and did not hide his discomfort toward the Democratic Party council members.
He stated, "Although I am the legitimately elected mayor of Asan through the June 2022 local elections, the Democratic Party habitually demands my resignation without clear evidence or valid reasons," and criticized, "I doubt whether Democratic Party council members truly want the development of Asan City, as they shake and sabotage the city's century-long projects such as Asan Port development and Art Valley Asan cultural projects, trying to keep the city like a frog in a well."
He continued, "Currently, the Democratic Party holds one more seat than the ruling party in the city council and has been wielding all sorts of arbitrary power, obstructing the executive branch at every turn with absurd political offensives," and questioned, "Is this a backlash against the reform of corruption allegations involving Democratic Party affiliates who controlled Asan city administration for the past 12 years?"
Regarding the controversy over the selection of the Cultural Foundation CEO and the humanities lectures in Asan City raised by some, he expressed strong confidence, saying, "It is not even worth considering as an issue" and "There is no problem."
Mayor Park emphasized, "Asan City requires employees at grade 5 or higher to take 50 hours and those at grade 6 or higher to take 80 hours of optional courses outside the regular curriculum, and the mayor can create educational programs," adding, "'Gobul Humanities' or 'Yi Sun-sin Academy' programs are necessary for cultivating leadership and enhancing humanities literacy and thinking among senior officials."
He further pointed out, "Regarding the mayor serving as an instructor, I have proper qualifications, having lectured nationwide as a humanities expert before becoming a politician and mayor," and criticized, "Saying that such lectures should not be given to citizens or public officials is a very narrow-minded view."
Concerning the appointment of Yuseong-nyeo as the new CEO of the Cultural Foundation, he criticized it as "an absurd claim that does not understand the situation in the arts community."
Mayor Park stated, "The arts field is not a technical field where qualifications or career alone matter," and pointed out, "There is a claim that there was no open recruitment process when Yoo was appointed as the artistic director of various city events, but artistic directors are positions that require recruiting talent even through persistent efforts, and there is no guideline mandating open recruitment."
He added, "In the arts field, competency should be evaluated before qualifications, and Yuseong-nyeo has already successfully led and reformed various festivals such as the Yi Sun-sin Festival as an expert," and stated, "If a moment comes during her term when she must be held accountable, she will be held responsible according to her capabilities."
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