“For the general election,” “a fraud on the public…” and Kim Dong-yeon setting himself up for ‘Mega Seoul’.

On the 16th, Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon, and Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok had a three-way meeting regarding the issue of “Seoul’s annexation of Kimpo City,” which is being pushed by the people’s power. However, they only confirmed their differing positions. Governor Kim, who has opposed the annexation of Kimpo City to Seoul, has repeatedly called it a “political show” and a “grand deception of the people,” saying that it is a campaign act for the election that is not feasible.

On the 17th, Governor Kim criticized the meeting in an interview with CBS Radio’s “Kim Hyun-jung’s News Show,” saying, “From the beginning, it was a topic that could not have any common ground,” and “If it was for the people of Kimpo City, they should have made a decision on the extension of Subway Line 5, which is the biggest issue right now.”

He said, “It is definitely not feasible to annex Kimpo to Seoul,” and “The essence of the mega city is to regionalize Seoul and revive the dying local areas, not to further develop Seoul.” He questioned, “Is this coming out at this point without any preparation for the people of Kimpo City, or is it being presented as a campaign strategy for the upcoming election in 5-6 months?”

Governor Kim criticized the mention of the annexation of other cities in the metropolitan area, such as Guri, Hanam, and Gwangmyeong, by the ruling party, as “an attempt to cover up fraud with another fraud” and said, “It’s the same pattern as the Yangpyeong Expressway. Instead of focusing on the essence of the problem and questioning who changed it and why, we should evaluate it based on the economic feasibility of the revised route and the original plan.”

He continued, “The day the ruling party adopted the annexation of Kimpo to Seoul, the president went to the day of local autonomy and balanced development and advocated the era of local autonomy. Where else can you find such a comedy?” He said, “Just like the Yangpyeong Expressway, which had been the original plan for 14 years, suddenly a revised bill popped up. It has a political purpose.”

He warned, “If this was really done for political purposes, the more they go, the more they will fall into a quagmire and become self-destructive.”

Reporter Kang Joo-hee kjh818@asiae.co.kr
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