‘Mega City’ 3-way meeting…Yoo Jung-bok takes a step back “I never said right or wrong.”

[iNews24 reporter Kim Da-un] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon, and Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok held a three-way meeting to discuss “Mega City Seoul.” While Mayor Yoo, who criticized the inclusion of Kimpo into Seoul as a “political show,” took a step back, Governor Kim maintained his strong opposition.

Mayor Oh, Governor Kim, and Mayor Yoo met at 6 p.m. on the 16th at the Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, and exchanged opinions on the selection process for alternative landfill sites, transportation issues in the metropolitan area such as climate-friendly cards, tourism activation including Han River Ara Batgil, and Mega City Seoul.

This is the fifth official meeting between the three local government heads since taking office.

In particular, the discussion on “Mega City” and the inclusion of Kimpo into Seoul received attention at this three-way meeting.

Mayor Yoo, who criticized the inclusion of Kimpo into Seoul at a press conference on the 6th as “politically engineered populism” that was not properly reviewed and lacked public consensus, seemed to have taken a step back this time, considering the party’s position.

After his opposition statement, Park Jeong-ha, the spokesperson for the ruling party, said, “The leadership is also uncomfortable, and lawmakers are in a boiling situation.” There have been voices within the ruling party criticizing Mayor Yoo.

Mayor Yoo said, “I have never said whether the reorganization of the administrative system is right or wrong, but I have always had the position that the administrative system should move forward in a future-oriented manner.”

However, he emphasized, “It is difficult to handle this issue before the general elections in reality,” and “there are methodological problems in the current discussion.”

On the other hand, Governor Kim continued to express strong opposition, calling the ruling party’s proposal for the Kimpo-Seoul Integration Special Law a “political show.”

Governor Kim said, “This government is going backwards in everything. It is expanding Seoul, which goes against balanced national development, and it cut R&D budgets by 16% while talking about future investments.” He emphasized that the issue of Seoul’s expansion is a direct reversal of balanced national development and local autonomy that has been pursued for 30 years.

Governor Kim also said, “I see this as a political show that is being done before the elections without going through the process of collecting residents’ opinions and opinions from local councils. It is not ‘Gone with the Wind,’ but an issue that will disappear with the general elections.” He criticized, “The people should see and judge accurately the path that South Korea will take regarding the ‘political show’ and ‘fraudulent act.'”

Mayor Oh said, “The starting points are different, and I confirmed that the perspectives themselves are different,” and “the discussion on Mega City is on the same line as the history of the expansion of Seoul (where the city expands and connects with the city centers of other administrative areas), but Governor Kim has the perception that it is an impossible discussion raised before the elections.”

He also said, “Because the starting points are different, it would not have been easy to find common ground in a short period of time,” and “we agreed to meet again at the end of December or early January. I expressed my desire to continue discussing the issue of Mega City and other matters, but Governor Kim has a different opinion on that point.”