Busan Gijang County Council 'Chairman Boycott' Walkout Disrupts Proceedings... 18 Livelihood Ordinances Stalled

Chairman Supporters and 'Boycott Faction' Split into Two Groups of Four Each, Neglecting Public Welfare in Power Struggle

Meeting scene of Busan Gijang County Council. [Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] The Busan Gijang County Council is experiencing a deadlock as it has split into two factions, with half of the council members boycotting meetings presided over by Chairman Kim Dae-gun.

The Gijang County Council consists of eight members, but they have been in conflict, divided into two factions of four members each.

According to the Gijang Council on the 15th, the council, which had been in deadlock for a month during the chairman election process in June, has once again entered a standstill starting that day.

A sharp confrontation arose over the issue of Chairman Kim Dae-gun presiding over meetings amid allegations of sexual harassment against a fellow council member.

The boycott faction, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, argued that since the police investigation resulted in a prosecution recommendation and the case was sent to the prosecution, it is inappropriate for Chairman Kim to preside over the council meetings, and demanded that he voluntarily step down from his position.

Chairman Kim’s side maintained that the prosecution investigation is ongoing and, asserting his innocence, insisted that it is only natural for the chairman to preside over the meetings.

The boycott faction council members stated, “We intended to abstain from attending since the temporary session began on the 8th, but stepped back for the sake of residents. However, we can no longer attend meetings presided over by Chairman Kim,” and decided to walk out.

They have taken a firm stance that they will not participate in future sessions either.

With these members walking out, the 18 proposed ordinances scheduled for that day failed to pass the council. Many of these ordinances are related to residents and public welfare, including the ordinance to prevent substandard construction, the Gijang County Youth Basic Ordinance, and the vacant house management ordinance.

Gijang County is struggling as it cannot process ordinances related to residents’ lives.

If the deadlock continues, it will also impact the supplementary budget settlement ordinance scheduled for next month and the budget review for next year in December.

Currently, Chairman Kim has left his party, the People Power Party, after being accused of sexual harassment, stating he does not want to burden the party.

The Gijang County Council members are divided into two factions regardless of party affiliation. The senior faction consists of four members in their 60s (Kim Dae-gun, Kim Jong-ryul, Sung Kyung-mi, Kim Hye-geum), and the younger faction consists of four members in their late 40s (Maeng Seung-ja, Woo Seong-bin, Park Woo-sik, Hwang Un-cheol), causing ongoing conflict.

The power struggle between these senior and younger factions is directly affecting Gijang County and its residents, who are currently fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

This is because the deadlock is a direct blow to the review of the current public welfare ordinances and the upcoming budgets related to COVID-19 and disaster response.

Jung, a resident of Jeonggwan-eup in Gijang County, said, “The residents, who have no power, are the ones suffering from the council members’ fight,” and added, “They need to come together with wisdom as soon as possible.”

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