Sim Sang-jung: "Won Hee-ryong Turns Issues Solvable by Responsible Administration into Political Strife"

Justice Party Lawmaker, KBS Radio Interview

As the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT) declared the cancellation of the Yangpyeong Expressway project citing fake news, Sim Sang-jung, a lawmaker from the Justice Party, criticized the decision, saying, "Minister Won Hee-ryong turned an issue that should have been resolved through responsible administration into a political conflict."

On the 26th, Sim said on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' "The government has the responsibility to provide evidence and explanations to address reasonable suspicions and convince the public. They should provide sufficient data and explanations. Instead, they declared the cancellation outright," she stated.

Minister Won declared a full cancellation of the Yangpyeong Expressway project, citing that opposition parties' allegations of preferential treatment involving the president's family were fake news. Minister Won is also expected to attend the MOLIT's current issues inquiry session held that day, where a confrontation between ruling and opposition parties over this issue is anticipated.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Sim said, "What crime have the people committed? This is an abuse of power against the public," adding, "As I mentioned earlier, calling it opposition party rumors denies the very reason for the opposition's existence. Reasonable suspicion is natural, and questioning and scrutinizing it is the right and responsibility of the opposition."

She continued, "Despite the inquiry date on the Yangpyeong Expressway issue being set quite some time ago, they barely answered phone calls or provided data," adding, "Then suddenly they release everything and say they will disclose all information. How many people among the public would have time to verify this? Not providing proper data to the opposition and then acting as if everything is transparently disclosed is too deceptive and a political performance."

Sim also stated that she would focus on questioning the reasons behind the route change during the inquiry. She said, "This government likes science, so they should present the basis for choosing the final route to dispel doubts," adding, "Because the expressway was scrapped, the public has been deeply hurt. We need to quickly bring solutions and alternatives to resume the project."

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