Lee Jae-myung Cancels Jeju Schedule... "Governor Won Hee-ryong Does Not Agree with Event Suspension, But..."

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, abruptly canceled his scheduled visit to Jeju Island on the 10th.

However, Governor Lee promised to visit Jeju Island soon to meet with the families of the April 3rd Incident victims, share heartfelt conversations, and also meet with party comrades in the Jeju region. He emphasized that he would also resume efforts to establish joint countermeasures between the two regions regarding Japan's discharge of radioactive contaminated water.

On the 9th, through a Facebook post titled "I will respect Governor Won Hee-ryong's opinion," he stated, "We planned to visit Jeju Island tomorrow (the 10th) after carefully considering everyone's safety and coordinating the necessary schedule," adding, "(However, considering concerns related to COVID-19 in Jeju) I will unconditionally respect Governor Won's opinion, who is responsible for Jeju's quarantine, and cancel the Jeju schedule."

He expressed regret, saying, "(The cancellation of the Jeju schedule) is, of course, very unfortunate," and "Above all, I wanted to meet the families of the April 3rd Incident victims and share heartfelt conversations, and I also wanted to meet the Democratic Party Jeju Provincial Party leadership and members who have always steadfastly supported our party."

In particular, he added, "If I had gone to Jeju this time, I wanted to express my gratitude to the Jeju residents who, amid the COVID-19 crisis, endured anxiety and fear and opened Jeju as a place of solace for the hearts of all citizens."

Furthermore, he said, "Joint responses to Japan's discharge of radioactive contaminated water may be even more dangerous than COVID-19, and it is a critical task to find ways to prevent it and respond for the safety of the people," adding, "(This event) was the minimum cooperation to expose Japan's barbarism and violence and protect the safety of the people, so (the event cancellation) is even more regrettable."

Governor Lee also criticized Governor Won's difficult-to-understand decision to cancel the event.

He explained the reason for the cancellation decision, saying, "Among the thousands to tens of thousands of visitors arriving in Jeju daily, the Gyeonggi Province official delegation is only about ten people, so it is hard to understand that Governor Won abruptly canceled the event claiming it would interfere with Jeju's quarantine administration," and added, "The judgment and will of the Jeju governor, who is responsible for the safety of the residents, must be respected, and this should be cooperation with quarantine administration."

Governor Lee was originally scheduled to hold a "Policy Council on Response to Japan's Nuclear Power Plant Radioactive Contaminated Water Discharge" on the 11th in Jeju with four institutions: Gyeonggi Province, Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, Jeju Province, and Jeju Provincial Assembly.

However, Governor Won notified Gyeonggi Province on the 7th that the event would be canceled due to a COVID-19 confirmation of a responsible staff member. In response, Governor Lee planned to hold a tripartite agreement ceremony with the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly and Jeju Provincial Assembly excluding Jeju Province. Then, Governor Won requested the postponement of Governor Lee's visit to Jeju again via Facebook, and Governor Lee accepted, resulting in the event's cancellation.

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