Kim Du-kwan "There is a wildfire, but Lee Cheol-woo is at a drinking party... Expel him immediately"

Lee Cheol-woo, Dinner with Future United Party Electees on the 24th When a Forest Fire Occurred in Andong, Gyeongbuk
Gyeongbuk Province "Dispatched Director of Environment and Forestry Bureau to Immediately Support Andong City"

Kim Du-gwan, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Lim Juhyung] It was recently revealed that on the day a wildfire broke out in a mountain in Andong, Gyeongbuk, Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk Province had a dinner accompanied by alcohol with some elected members of the United Future Party. In response, Kim Doo-kwan, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, strongly criticized, saying, "The United Future Party should immediately expel (Governor Lee)."

On the morning of the 29th, Kim wrote on his Facebook, "Yesterday, news came out that Governor Lee Cheol-woo of Gyeongbuk and three elected members from Gyeongbuk of the United Future Party were drinking at a restaurant and made a victory toast even amid the wildfire situation in Andong," adding, "I don't want to believe it."

He continued, "Having served as governor of Gyeongnam and mayor of Namhae County, I know well. Local government heads worry more about wildfires even in spring when flowers bloom or autumn when leaves change color," and pointed out, "When summer comes, they often wake up early worrying about the monsoon, and if even 1cm of snow is expected, they stay awake all night."

He then criticized, "The fire site was only 6.4 km away from the provincial office. For Governor Lee, meetings with elected members Kim Byung-wook, Kim Hee-guk, and Jung Hee-yong might have felt more important than the wildfire," and added, "So, beyond meetings, they even held a drinking party at a restaurant in front of the provincial office."

Kim said, "It's so outrageous that I don't even feel like demanding an apology. Even if demanded, the United Future Party won't accept it," and insisted, "For the United Future Party to truly change, it must immediately expel (Governor Lee)."

Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province / Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, on the 24th at around 6:30 p.m., Governor Lee had dinner at a restaurant near the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office with some senior officials and United Future Party elected members Kim Byung-wook, Kim Hee-guk, and Jung Hee-yong. After this fact became known, some raised controversy, questioning whether it was inappropriate behavior during an emergency situation.

As the controversy spread, Gyeongbuk Province explained on the 28th, "At the time of the wildfire, the firefighting command authority belonged to the city and county, not the province. Therefore, the mayor of Andong mobilized firefighting forces and directed the wildfire suppression," adding, "Governor Lee dispatched the provincial Environment and Forestry Director to the site to support Andong City and instructed the Fire Headquarters Chief and Disaster Safety Director to establish a proactive crisis response system."

Regarding the subsequent situation, they explained, "The dinner with elected members and department heads was an official schedule. During the dinner, several toasts were made to congratulate the elected members and request securing budgets for local projects," and "At around 7:35 p.m., during the dinner, the mayor of Andong and the provincial Environment and Forestry Director reported the situation to the governor by phone from the wildfire site, and Governor Lee said he would immediately go to the site."

The fire that started on the afternoon of the 24th in a hill in Ingum-ri, Pungcheon-myeon, Andong-si, Gyeongbuk, has continued to spread to the Danho-ri area of Namhu-myeon by the afternoon of the 25th. / Photo by Yonhap News

They added, "However, the mayor of Andong said, 'It is getting dark, so we cannot continue operations and are withdrawing helicopters, so it would be better to join at dawn the next day,'" and "After urgently sending the Deputy Governor, who was dining, to the site, the dinner with the elected members was quickly concluded."

Meanwhile, the wildfire that broke out at around 3:39 p.m. on the 24th in a mountain in Ingum-ri, Pungcheon-myeon, Andong, was extinguished after about three days on the 26th. There were no casualties, but approximately 800 hectares of forest (estimated by forestry authorities), three houses near the fire site, as well as warehouses, livestock barns, and vinyl greenhouses were burned, and nearby residents were evacuated.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.