Choi Seung-jae: "Attendance Rate at Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters Meetings during Minister Park's Tenure Was 22.5%... Did He Convey the Small Business Owners' Cries?"

Rep. Choi Seung-jae of the People Power Party Receives Data from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups
Attended Only 44 out of 195 Prime Minister-Led Meetings

On April 4th, Easter Sunday, Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, visited Myeongdong Cathedral in Seoul to attend mass and greeted citizens. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Hyun-joo] It has been revealed that Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, attended only 44 out of 195 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters (CDSCH) meetings chaired by Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun during her tenure as Minister of SMEs and Startups. Her attendance rate was 22.5%.

On the 5th, Choi Seung-jae, a member of the People Power Party, stated, "At the end of last year, when the monthly confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 26,000 and the pandemic was at its peak, she attended only 4 out of 33 CDSCH meetings."

According to data submitted to Choi by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups on the same day, a total of 290 CDSCH meetings were held from February last year, when COVID-19 first occurred, until January 20 of this year, when Park stepped down. Among these, 195 meetings were chaired by the Prime Minister. When the Prime Minister chairs the CDSCH meetings, it is customary for the relevant ministers to attend.

However, Choi pointed out that Park, while serving as minister, frequently did not attend, failing to properly convey the situation of small business owners. He said, "Decisions made at the CDSCH meetings led to orders restricting business operations and prohibiting gatherings," adding, "With the attendance rate of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups minister?the main ministry?being low, how could the pain and cries of small business owners and self-employed people have been properly conveyed?"

He continued, "Even now, small business owners and self-employed people do not understand why stores had to close after 9 p.m. or why more than five people could not dine together," and criticized, "When confirmed COVID-19 cases exceeded 1,000, doubling the pain and anxiety of small business owners and the self-employed, where and what was the Minister of SMEs and Startups doing?"

Choi said, "Looking at her official schedule as minister, it is questionable how it related to the pain of small business owners pushed to the brink," and added, "Ignoring small business owners during her tenure as minister and then shedding tears while visiting traditional markets is nothing but 'crocodile tears' to deceive voters for votes."

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