Jeju Provincial Assembly Member Lee Kyung-yong: "Won Hee-ryong's Image of Rationality, Fairness, and Justice Fades"

Criticizing the Organizational Restructuring Plan, Surrounded by Governor Won's Close Associates, Unable to Make Proper 'Decisions'

Kyung-Yong Lee, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province Council Member (People Power Party, Seohong and Daeryun-dong, Seogwipo City)

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters (Jeju) Reporter Park Chang-won] As the organizational restructuring plan to merge the Clean Environment Bureau and the Safe City Bureau of Seogwipo City, Jeju Special Self-Governing Province into the ‘Clean Environment City Bureau’ passed the standing committee of the Jeju Provincial Council, a claim has emerged that the proposal by the Mayor of Seogwipo was ignored and that this outcome is due to the ‘eunuch politics’ around Governor Won Hee-ryong, which is expected to cause a stir.

The Jeju Provincial Council Budget and Accounts Special Committee (Chairman Moon Jong-tae) held a meeting on the 3rd during the 389th regular session to review the 2021 budget submitted by Jeju Province.

At this meeting, Assemblyman Lee Kyung-yong focused on raising issues regarding the organizational restructuring plan of Jeju Province that passed the Administrative Affairs Committee on the 1st. Before starting his main inquiry, Assemblyman Lee opened by saying, “Even if I lose my position as an assemblyman today, I must speak the truth.”

Assemblyman Lee explained, “The Urban Construction Bureau and the Environmental Conservation Bureau are like water and oil, so they need to check and balance each other. If these departments are merged into one, various problems may arise, so the organization should be divided.”

He continued, “I am here with the mindset of submitting a petition because there is no mechanism to control ‘eunuch politics.’ Currently, the Jeju provincial government has an invisible hand around the governor. These are called close aides or ‘door-handle power,’ and those who have seized power do not provide accurate information, hindering the judgment of the power holder (the governor),” he asserted.

He added, “The Ming Dynasty of China collapsed due to ‘eunuch politics,’ where eunuchs were called ‘loyal subjects’ by the emperor but ‘traitors’ by the people. Jeju’s provincial government must also eliminate such a culture to proceed correctly,” he pointed out.

Assemblyman Lee criticized, “The organizational restructuring plan passed the Administrative Affairs Committee on the 1st, but the opinions of the administrative cities were not reflected at all, and in this process, the proposal from the Mayor of Seogwipo was ignored. Jeju’s provincial government talks about strengthening the authority of administrative cities, but in reality, it is going in the opposite direction, and due to the monopolization and expansion of power, lower-level institutions have to watch the governor’s direct agencies,” he said sharply.

He continued, “Governor Won Hee-ryong has an image of rational judgment, fairness, integrity, impartiality, inclusiveness, standing up boldly against injustice, hope, and positivity, but for some reason, this image is gradually fading. This is due to the flawed blueprint of certain factions,” he claimed, urging, “Both Seogwipo citizens and Jeju citizens are provincial residents, and the provincial council is an institution representing the residents. Please reconsider what is reasonable.”

In a phone interview with Asia Economy, Assemblyman Lee Kyung-yong stated, “This is not about private organizations or unofficial power brokers, but a criticism of the governor’s inability to make proper judgments due to the arbitrary actions of the governor’s close departments. I felt someone had to speak up, so I spoke with a sincere heart.”

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