Suncheon Democratic Party Faces Controversy Over Requesting Legal Advice from People Power Party

Citizens React "Is It True?" and "It's Shocking"
Democratic Party City Council Member Says "Unbelievable. Embarrassing"

Chairman Heo Yu-in of Suncheon City Council is delivering the opening address at the last session.
Photo by Suncheon City Council

[Suncheon=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] The Suncheon City Council (Chairman Heo Yu-in) is reported to have conducted a legal review with A, a member of the People Power Party’s Suncheon district association, regarding the Suncheonman Garden Market, sparking controversy in the region.

A is the youth manager of the People Power Party’s Suncheon district association and serves as the deputy secretary-general as well as the office manager at the law office of Cheon Ha-ram, the district association chairman.

According to A, B, a council member who chairs a standing committee of the Suncheon City Council, “asked to check if there were any issues in the establishment process of the Suncheonman Garden Market,” revealing that A had been communicating with Council Member B.

Following the legal review, A stated, “We found some minor issues, but since the project has progressed too far, although there are problems, I don’t think there are any major issues that would justify canceling it immediately,” adding, “I organized the related documents and delivered them.”

The Suncheonman Garden Market project has been promoted since 2017 with 4.9 billion KRW support from the Korea Forest Service and 1.2 billion KRW from Jeonnam Province. In March, the establishment and operation ordinance was passed; in May, the ordinance for establishing and operating the investment corporation was enacted; in July, Suncheon City approved the investment; on the 24th of last month, 1.01 billion KRW was publicly raised from citizen shareholders; and on the 15th of this month, the inaugural general meeting was held to launch Suncheonman Garden Market Co., Ltd., which will operate the market.

With only the city council’s approval of the ‘Suncheonman Garden Market Private Consignment Agreement’ left, the city council’s executive branch has not referred the matter to the standing committee and has delayed it, making the normal opening of the Suncheonman Garden Market within this year uncertain, leading to criticism of “city council obstruction.”

Additionally, media reports claim that C, a friend and close aide of National Assembly member So Byung-chul (Suncheon Gap, Judiciary Committee), who runs a flower wholesale business, urged council members to oppose the project behind the scenes. The Democratic Party’s local committee has set the ‘private consignment agreement’ as party policy to oppose it, raising concerns that this constitutes excessive interference by a lawmaker in municipal affairs.

Council Member B, known to have strong trust from So Byung-chul, receiving legal advice from the People Power Party appears to be a strategy to amplify opposition, and some speculate that “a single council member wouldn’t have made this decision alone.”

Citizen D said, “This is unacceptable. Does the Democratic Party have no lawyers to consult that they have to ask the People Power Party? Isn’t the local committee chairman a legal expert?” adding, “With the presidential election approaching and unresolved tensions from the primary, seeking legal advice from the opposing party’s district chairman only disrupts local public sentiment and is absurd.”

It is argued that it is unreasonable for a Democratic Party city council member to request the office manager of Cheon Ha-ram, the People Power Party’s Suncheon district chairman, to identify issues related to the Suncheonman Garden Market in order to check the Democratic Party-led city executive branch.

Especially, with the presidential election and next year’s local elections approaching, when citizen unity should be led to secure a Democratic Party victory, receiving legal advice from a rival party is criticized as inappropriate conduct.

In response, Council Member B stated, “Citizens who filed complaints about the Suncheonman Garden Market also submitted complaints to the People Power Party’s Suncheon district association, so A came to the council. The Democratic Party did not provide documents to the People Power Party,” and added, “In the presidential election climate, the People Power Party thought that resolving complaints would cost votes, so they actively tried to resolve the complaints.”

In the last presidential election, Suncheon citizens gave President Moon Jae-in the highest nationwide vote percentage.

At that time, with Representative Lee Jung-hyun serving as the Suncheon district lawmaker, it was a more valuable gift to President Moon, demonstrating the advanced consciousness of Suncheon citizens. This situation contrasts with that, and most citizens and city council members agree that such a thing should not happen.

Democratic Party member Council Member E said, “I can’t believe it,” and added, “It’s shameful. I think a serious response is necessary.”

Meanwhile, new developments have emerged, such as the Suncheon City Council requesting A to participate as a discussant at the Suncheonman Garden Market public hearing planned for the 8th, and further follow-up reporting is planned.

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