Assemblyman Yongbin Lee Selected as 'Outstanding Member' by NGO Monitoring Group in National Assembly Audit

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Congressman Lee Yong-bin (The Democratic Party of Korea, Gwangju Gwangsan Gap) was selected as an ‘Outstanding Member of the National Assembly (National Interest and People's Welfare Award)’ by the 2020 National Assembly Inspection NGO Monitoring Group.

The National Assembly Inspection NGO Monitoring Group is a specialized monitoring group for the National Assembly inspection with a 22-year tradition, consisting of about 1,000 members monitoring online and other channels.

They analyze the results of intensive on-site monitoring during the National Assembly inspection period and select outstanding members (National Interest and People's Welfare Award) every year.

During the first National Assembly inspection of the 21st National Assembly, Congressman Lee Yong-bin served as a member of the Science, Technology, Information and Communications Committee, and was evaluated as showing an uncharacteristic performance for a first-term lawmaker by eliciting positive responses from the government through sharp problem-raising and alternative proposals based on meticulous data analysis.

Congressman Lee uncovered problems such as unfair practices, evasive administration, and passive administration, leading the inspected agencies to promise improvements. He was also praised for pointing out issues that go against national balanced development with a ‘hawk’s eye.’

In addition, he pointed out the tilted playing field issues such as the reality of small and medium-sized enterprises becoming ‘sidekicks’ to large corporations and regional neglect in the fields of science, technology, and information and communications.

Although the current Software Promotion Act encourages the fostering of small and medium-sized enterprises, he criticized the reality where administrative guidelines emphasize large corporation participation, pointed out conflicts with higher laws, and proposed a revision bill to enhance the law’s effectiveness.

He highlighted regional imbalance issues in national R&D projects and 5G base station installations. While 78% of national R&D project support is concentrated in the Seoul metropolitan area and Daejeon, Gwangju and Jeonnam have remained at 1-2% for several years. He proposed institutional measures such as establishing a special account to support regional R&D.

He also pointed out that despite bearing the same communication costs as large cities, Jeonnam’s 5G base station installation rate remains at the 1% level nationwide, suggesting improvements such as expanding investment by mobile carriers and eliminating discriminatory communication fees.

Not stopping there, he exposed the widespread corruption among IBS (Institute for Basic Science) research directors and raised issues regarding the safety of Hanbit Nuclear Power Plant and the social responsibility of Hyundai Construction.

To alleviate regional anxiety and distrust regarding Hanbit Units 3 and 4, which were the starting signal for the ‘Korean Standard Nuclear Power Plant,’ he proposed strengthening the nuclear power plant safety management system and resident participation, and submitted related bills.

Additionally, he focused on labor rights issues for socially vulnerable groups, such as banning outsourcing at nuclear power plants, and improving the treatment of broadcast writers and 5G base station inspectors.

Congressman Lee said, “I believe I was selected as a sign that I properly represent the marginalized people and the harsh realities of local areas and carry out more responsible legislative activities,” adding, “I will continue to prioritize national balanced development and resolving livelihood issues suffering from COVID-19 in my legislative activities.”

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