"My Proposal in the Democratic Party" Shin Hyun-young Praises Oh's 'Seoul-style Coexistence Quarantine'

Oh Se-hoon "Promoting 'Seoul-style Coexistence Quarantine' to Protect Livelihoods and Disease Prevention"

Shin Hyun-young, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Shin Hyun-young, a doctor-turned-lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed regret on the 13th regarding Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's "Seoul-style Win-Win Quarantine," saying, "The Democratic Party has taken the ideas I advocated well."

Shin, a first-term lawmaker, wrote on her Facebook that day, "Through the policy expo for the Seoul mayoral election, press releases, and the Seoul City Park Young-sun campaign, I have consistently argued through various channels that quarantine guidelines should be created based on coexistence and communication. However, the policies that were not utilized by the Democratic Party were instead adopted by the People Power Party," she said.

She added, "I do not know whether it was because I was a first-term lawmaker with little influence, whether there was a problem with the decision-making body within the Democratic Party, or whether there were flaws in the policy content itself, or how Mayor Oh came to use the content advocated by a Democratic Party lawmaker. However, I think it is time to reflect on whether there were authoritarian elements in our internal communication and policy decision-making processes and where the disconnect is occurring," she pointed out.

She continued, "If we fail to overcome this, the policy activities of the 174 lawmakers may not shine, and we might remain stuck in this place," she said.

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is attending the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office on the 13th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Shin also spoke about youth policies, saying, "Our party has as many as five lawmakers in their 20s and 30s," and added, "Haven't these young lawmakers been discussing youth policies? Could it be that the decision-making structure ignores or dismisses these discussions? We need to reassess our problems once again. No, beyond reassessment, we need to conduct a thorough investigation," she emphasized.

She further stated, "In decision-making, we must move away from 'pre-decided answers' and adopt a democratic communication style, especially a party structure that reflects the opinions of lawmakers who engage in legislative activities with sincerity," and added, "I will support the floor leader and party leader who can sufficiently improve these aspects."

Finally, Shin addressed Mayor Oh, saying, "Please carry out the win-win quarantine well for the citizens who are enduring difficult days due to COVID-19," and added, "Now, the Democratic Party will reform itself so that our good policy proposals are not taken away. I also hope that when the People Power Party adopts good policies from the Democratic Party, they will communicate and consult to implement the policies in a mannerly way."

Earlier, Mayor Oh said at an online COVID-19 briefing the day before, "We will shift the paradigm from a uniform 'regulatory quarantine' that forces sacrifices on self-employed and small business owners to a 'win-win quarantine' that protects both people's livelihoods and quarantine."

He said, "We have also begun establishing the 'Seoul-style social distancing manual' to manage both quarantine and livelihoods," adding, "We will prepare the manual by this weekend and start consultations with the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters next week regarding implementation methods and timing."

He continued, "I hope the central government empathizes with Seoul City's efforts to revive neighborhood commercial districts and the livelihood economy, which are suffering amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, and works together with one heart and mind," he added.

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