Democratic Party's Kim Min-seok: "TK Administrative Integration Should Proceed with 60-70% Agreement"

"I am 100% confident in Lee Jae-myung's innocence"
Asia Forum Invitational Debate

Kim Min-seok, a senior supreme council member of the Democratic Party and a member of the National Assembly representing Yeongdeungpo-eul, Seoul, stated on the 14th that it is appropriate to proceed with the TK administrative integration, a key project in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region, when there is about 60-70% agreement.

At 7:30 a.m. that day, Kim spoke at a discussion forum hosted by ‘‘Asia Forum 21,’’ a gathering of mid-level journalists in Daegu, saying, “It seems that the trend recently has been toward ultra-wide administrative districts. The previous government pushed for the Busan-Ulsan-Gyeongnam (Bu-Ul-Gyeong) megacity, but it was scrapped under this government, and now the trend toward ultra-wide administrative districts has revived. Rationality and democracy are necessary for administrative district wide-area integration.”

Kim Min-seok, Senior Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party

He added, “Rationality is roughly recognized and justified in the TK administrative integration. However, democracy requires consensus among the local residents. Rather than debating whether it should be a referendum or approval by the metropolitan council, there should be about 60-70% agreement when considering the central political sphere and external perceptions combined. I believe it is appropriate to approach it from this perspective.”

Kim said, “To promote TK administrative integration, there needs to be a consensus among local residents. A reasonable level of agreement that anyone can recognize should come first. I think most members of the National Assembly think this way. I am considering meeting with Hong Joon-pyo, the mayor of Daegu who is promoting the Daegu-Gyeongbuk integration.”

Kim also asserted, “The Democratic Party is 100% confident in the innocence of Representative Lee Jae-myung. Regardless of the trial outcome, the Democratic Party will unite more and steadily pursue making Lee Jae-myung president.”

When asked how to check the prosecution, Kim said, “The prosecution issue is difficult regardless of party lines. Even in the U.S., there are considerable problems with abuse of prosecutorial power. During the Moon Jae-in administration, we thought creating the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) would solve it, but that was not the case. There must be an institution to catch criminals. The prosecution issue requires careful consideration on how to reform the system.”