Gyeonggi-do Basic Local Government Heads Face 'Dinner Gathering' Controversy Amid Social Distancing Strengthening

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] It has been revealed that heads of basic local governments in Gyeonggi Province engaged in "deviant behavior" by holding group dinners at restaurants at a time when social distancing was raised to level 2 due to COVID-19, sparking controversy.

Seo Beom-su, a member of the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee from the People Power Party (Ulsan Ulju-gun), stated during the national audit of Gyeonggi Province on the 19th, "In August and September, when Governor Lee Jae-myung of Gyeonggi Province issued an administrative order to the 13.7 million residents to refrain from going out and to stop gatherings, heads of basic local governments in the province violated this and held many gatherings," and questioned, "Isn't there a problem with the authority or trust of (Governor Lee's) administration?"

Seo particularly pointed out again, "Did this happen because the governor's orders were not properly followed or because the governor was paying attention to the wrong things?"

In response, Governor Lee Jae-myung said, "Compared to before (when there was no COVID-19), gatherings have decreased," and added, "However, since (the lawmaker's criticism) has merit, I will pay more attention."

On that day, Seo cited examples of deviant behavior by heads of basic local governments, including ▲ Kim Jong-cheon, Mayor of Gwacheon (August 28, 18 people, Chinese restaurant, 247,000 KRW) ▲ Yoon Hwa-seop, Mayor of Ansan (September 2, 20 people, Korean beef restaurant, 490,000 KRW) ▲ Ahn Byung-yong, Mayor of Uijeongbu (September 3, 10 people, galbi restaurant, 230,000 KRW) ▲ Yeom Tae-young, Mayor of Suwon (September 8, 12 people, tuna restaurant, 348,000 KRW).

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