Ahn Cheol-soo: "Gwanghwamun Square Construction is a 'Legacy Administration'... Must Stop Immediately"

“It is right to elect the next mayor first and then make the decision”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized the Seoul city government’s redevelopment project on the 17th, saying, “Who is the Gwanghwamun Square construction for?” He added, “This is a construction project costing a whopping 80 billion won in taxes. It has been decided to be reexamined twice, and even central government ministries under this administration opposed it. I don’t understand why they are pushing it forward.”

On the same day, Ahn said on Facebook, “There is no mayor, no agreement with ministries, and no consent from Seoul citizens. In short, this is a model of ‘sloppy administration,’ ‘non-communicative administration,’ and ‘legacy administration.’”

Ahn argued, “Seoul city insists that it has communicated with citizens for a long time regarding this project. However, I doubt whether they have conducted any proper in-depth surveys with drivers using Gwanghwamun Boulevard or citizens using the square and pedestrian areas. Are they perhaps mistaking calling only pro-government civic groups to applaud and then ending it as communication?”

Ahn stated, “The Gwanghwamun Square construction is not a project to be rushed through by an acting administration with only five months left in its term. After the next mayor is elected, it is appropriate for the new administration to decide after hearing the opinions of citizens, urban planning experts, and the central government.”

Ahn pointed out, “The local tax burden per household in Seoul already exceeds 5.14 million won annually. Considering the soaring local property holding taxes, citizens’ tax burdens will snowball in the future. Citizens are already bent under the tax bomb; who would accept pouring taxes into such a project? Whose interests are being served, and who is being commemorated through this project?”

Ahn said, “The biggest problem in Korean administration is that there is too much ‘blind money’ where ‘the first to eat is the owner.’ There are too many projects that disguise private interests as public interests and provide actual or symbolic benefits to certain forces or individuals in the process. It’s time to stop. What is blind money to you is sweat, tears, and hard-earned money that citizens should spend for their families.”

Ahn concluded, “Stop the project immediately, and let the qualified new mayor chosen by Seoul citizens in five months decide after consulting the will of the citizens and experts. If the current acting administration pushes forward without justification, they must be held accountable for the forced construction and waste of public funds under the new Seoul mayoral administration.”

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