Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District, Meets Kim Hyun-gi, Chairperson of Seoul Metropolitan Council, to Request Incinerator Budget Cuts

[Seoul Districts and Seoul Metropolitan Council News] Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo-gu, Meets with Kim Hyun-gi, Chairman of Seoul Metropolitan Council, and Nam Chang-jin, Vice Chairman, on the 20th to Deliver Protest Letter ... Kim Hyun-gi, Chairman of Seoul Metropolitan Council, Signs MOU with Li Wei, Chairman of Beijing Municipal Council, on the 19th

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] On the 20th, Park Gang-su, Mayor of Mapo District Office, visited the Seoul Metropolitan Council to meet with Kim Hyun-gi, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, and Nam Chang-jin, Vice Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, delivering a letter of protest regarding the newly announced candidate sites for incineration plants by the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

The purpose was to formally convey the district's position on the Seoul Metropolitan Government's selection of new incineration plant candidate sites to the council and to request active support and cooperation from the Seoul Metropolitan Council.

At this meeting, Mayor Park raised critical voices regarding ▲ the presence of not only undesirable facilities such as incineration plants and Danginri Thermal Power Plant but also hazardous facilities like hydrogen charging stations and hydrogen fuel cell power plants ▲ the fact that nearly half of Seoul's waste will be incinerated starting in 2026 ▲ and the loss of objectivity and transparency in the site selection committee.

In particular, he pointed out the committee's composition, noting that “a local council member from a region long considered a strong candidate site participated as a committee member,” and criticized through a statement that “the Seoul Metropolitan Government emphasizes fairness by stating that everything was decided by an independently operated site selection committee, but external perspectives such as the media do not see it that way.”

The site selection committee consists of a total of 10 members, with 7 members related to the council. This includes 2 council members selected by the council, 3 resident representatives selected by the council, and 2 experts recommended by the resident representatives. The remaining members are 2 experts selected by the mayor and 1 city official. Ultimately, the members recommended by the council constitute the majority of the site selection committee.

Regarding this, Kim Hyun-gi, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council (People Power Party, Gangnam District), said, “Initially, the Seoul Metropolitan Government asked to recommend 2 council members, so we recommended council members from Gangnam District and Yangcheon District, where incineration plants are located, but this recommendation was rejected. The Environment and Water Resources Committee was then delegated to recommend 2 members, and we only received notification of the results afterward.”

Upon hearing this, Mayor Park stated, “Ultimately, the site selection committee that decided on the metropolitan resource recovery facility in Sangam-dong was formed mainly by the Environment and Water Resources Committee (Chair Bong Yang-soon, Democratic Party, Nowon District), and the site selection was made by those members,” adding, “We strongly request the council to cut the budget related to the metropolitan resource recovery facility.”

He also criticized that “this site selection was conducted unilaterally without collecting residents' opinions or any consultation with Mapo District,” and conveyed the position that the Seoul Metropolitan Council, which holds the authority to review and approve the Seoul Metropolitan Government’s budget, must exercise all appropriate powers to lead the withdrawal of the site selection.

On the 19th at 4 p.m., Kim Hyun-gi, Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, held a video conference with Li Wei, Director of the Standing Committee of the People's Congress of Beijing, China (equivalent to the Chairman of the Seoul Metropolitan Council in Korea).

This video conference was arranged at the proposal of the Seoul Metropolitan Council to sign a friendly exchange and cooperation MOU between the two capital city councils in celebration of the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and China.

Seoul and Beijing established a sister city relationship in 1993, and since 1995, the two city councils have shared legislative experiences and built mutual understanding and trust by visiting each other's key policy facilities.

Alongside Chairman Kim Hyun-gi, Vice Chairman Nam Chang-jin, People Power Party Representative Choi Ho-jung, Operations Committee Chair Park Hwan-hee, and Legislative Affairs Officer Geum Mi-kyung from the Council Secretariat participated to review the achievements of exchanges between the two cities and explore opportunities for sustainable joint development cooperation.

Chairman Kim said, “Seoul and Beijing are leading the politics, economy, and culture of the Northeast Asia region as global metropolises, and their status is steadily rising. However, it is also true that various challenges caused by urbanization are accumulating. Solving urban problems is a national task and a challenge to realize a happy future for humanity, so cooperation between our legislative bodies is essential.”

Li Wei, Director of the Standing Committee of the Beijing People's Congress, responded by expressing a desire to deepen exchanges and cooperation in smart city and technological innovation fields, along with sharing Beijing’s successful experiences in urban planning and management.

Both sides promised to sign a friendly exchange and cooperation MOU based on the trust built over the years on the meaningful occasion of the 30th anniversary of Korea-China diplomatic relations and to continue research and discussions on common issues faced by Seoul and Beijing.

Chairman Kim expressed hope that the MOU signing would lead to closer cooperation and sustainable exchanges, contributing to the development of a more mature and sound relationship between the two countries.

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