Yoon Jae-ok: "Yangpyeong Expressway National Audit Expands Political Conflict... Should Be Discussed in Standing Committee"

Meeting with the Press Corps and Brown Bag on the 12th

On the 12th, Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, commented on Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea's proposal for a state audit regarding the cancellation of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project, saying, "It is interpreted as an intention to escalate political conflict."

On the same day, Yoon held his second 'Brown Bag Meeting' with reporters at the National Assembly since taking office and said, "The project has been halted and is facing a crisis due to political conflict, so we should focus on how to respect the wishes of local residents by removing the conflict. Proposing a state audit means an intention to escalate political conflict."

He particularly emphasized that since a plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee is scheduled for the 17th to question relevant ministries on current issues, inquiries regarding suspicions about the Yangpyeong Expressway will be made. He added, "Because the public and local residents are interested in this issue, Kim Jeong-jae, the committee secretary of the Land Committee, and I have requested to hold a standing committee meeting, and the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport was told to sufficiently explain the government's position in response to opposition party inquiries."

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the 'Brown Bag Meeting' with the press corps held at the National Assembly on the 12th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Yoon further stated, "Typically, the ruling party might delay or avoid holding a standing committee meeting on such issues, but because fake news and agitation are rampant regarding the Yangpyeong Expressway issue, we judged that it is rather desirable to actively provide explanations, so we agreed to hold the standing committee meeting."

Yoon pointed out that all suspicions raised by the opposition party so far have been proven wrong. He explained, "The route change was initiated by the Democratic Party side, and the private company’s feasibility study also started under the previous administration. Moreover, the result of the (terminus change) was reported three days after Minister Won Hee-ryong of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport took office."

He also said, "The Democratic Party side has continuously demanded the installation of an interchange (IC), but considering the environmental impact assessment, safety approval, and residents' demands, the route for the Ganghwa IC installation inevitably had to be changed. They claim that they only requested the installation of the IC and did not demand a route change, but if installation is difficult without changing the route, that is an unreasonable claim."

Yoon said, "After Minister Won declared the cancellation of the project, the first thing he mentioned to the media was consistently that 'realistically, it is difficult to proceed with the project under these circumstances, so it is understood that the project will be suspended.' Therefore, once the elements of political conflict are removed, the wishes of local residents must naturally be respected. Measures that can honor the wishes of local residents should be taken."

Regarding Park Seong-jung, a member of the ruling party and secretary of the Science, Technology, Information and Broadcasting and Communications Committee, who has recently mentioned political bias in portals, Yoon evaluated him as "a member who actively speaks at floor strategy meetings and has a firm conviction about the fairness and neutrality of the media." Yoon added, "However, from the perspective of the standing committee secretary, it is true that he strongly expressed his position on media fairness and neutrality in recent remarks. But I believe he does not intend to subjectively evaluate any specific media outlet."

In his opening remarks that day, Yoon emphasized 'livelihood.' He said, "Today, North Korea launched a ballistic missile after 27 days, and the Korean Metal Workers' Union of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions is conducting a general strike, so the livelihood situation is extremely difficult. The political sphere should try to resolve such issues, but I think the public feels very fatigued by the focus on political conflict agitation and political purposes, concentrating only on issues of interest rather than problem-solving." He added, "I hope that the so-called current issues will be quickly resolved and that politics will return to a productive approach that takes care of people's livelihoods."

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