Daejeon 'Midnight Festival' Commentary Battle... "Disclose the Budget" vs "Hope for a Big Success"

Democratic Party: "Only Focused on Cutting or Hiding Festival Budgets"
People Power Party: "Hope for Nationwide Festivals Without Safety Accidents Again This Year"

On the 7th, two days before the Daejeon 0 o'clock Festival, the old Chungnam Provincial Office was busy with the final preparations for the festival. Photo by Park Jongmyung

Two days before the opening of the Daejeon '0-si Festival', on the 7th, the Daejeon branches of the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party engaged in a war of commentaries.

On the 7th, the Daejeon branch of the Democratic Party issued a statement saying, "Since Mayor Lee Jangwoo took office and the '0-si Festival' began, there has been no accurate tally of the festival budget, and the Daejeon city government appears to be preoccupied with reducing or concealing the festival budget." The statement continued, "Daejeon City, which created a deficit budget by taking on 240 billion won in debt, is amplifying citizens' distrust by erratic budget execution for the '0-si Festival', raising concerns about worsening finances."

They went on to say, "Behind the glamorous festival lies the dark shadow of non-transparent budget management," and pointed out, "Last year, 3.3 billion won more was spent on the '0-si Festival' than initially budgeted, and this year the amount is expected to exceed 10 billion won, making it impossible to even estimate the total budget related to the '0-si Festival.'"

They further claimed, "There are suspicions that the '0-si Festival' budget, which has surged two to three times more than originally planned, has been reduced and concealed, and Daejeon City's underhanded administration to avoid central government review is also being criticized." They added, "Event budgets exceeding 3 billion won must undergo a central investment review, but Daejeon City deliberately lowered the '0-si Festival' budget to 2.9 billion won last year and this year as a trick to evade this requirement."

They urged, "Daejeon City should not reduce or hide the budget, but instead disclose the '0-si Festival' budget openly and confidently."

The Daejeon branch of the People Power Party, in a commentary hoping for the festival's success, stated, "The Daejeon 0-si Festival is inspired by the nostalgic pop song 'Daejeon Blues,' famous for the line, 'Goodbye, I'm leaving. Daejeon departure at 12:50 AM.'" They evaluated, "Since the 1993 Daejeon Expo, this is the largest single event, attracting 1.1 million visitors, more than 70% of whom came from outside Daejeon?a successful case of city administration."

They added, "This time-traveling festival, which encompasses Daejeon's past, present, and future, is filled with rich content, from cultural performances to a variety of foods." They continued, "We hope many people will enjoy walking down Jungang-ro and Mokcheokgyo, places usually closed to pedestrians, whether with loved ones or alone, and enjoy some leisure time."

They also emphasized, "Citizen participation for safety and the dedication of public officials are important," and added, "We will do our utmost so that this opportunity to revitalize the old downtown is shared equally among all citizens, and hope this year's festival will be a nationwide event free of safety accidents."

Meanwhile, the Daejeon 0-si Festival, held under the slogan "Daejeon that never sleeps, fun that never ends," will take place for nine days from the 9th to the 17th along Jungang-ro, from Daejeon Station to the old Chungnam Provincial Government building and surrounding areas of the old downtown.