Ha Tae-kyung: "The Ministry of Gender Equality is only an assistant... Jeonbuk Province holds the greatest responsibility for Jamboree"

"To Hold the President Accountable for Local Autonomy, It Must Be an Appointment System"
"Practical and Legal Responsibilities Lie with Local Governments"

Ha Tae-kyung, a member of the People Power Party, claimed that the greatest responsibility for the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree incident lies with the local government of Jeonbuk Province, which is the main organizer.

In an interview on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' on the 11th, Rep. Ha said, "Jeonbuk Province competed with Gangwon Province to host the Jamboree and won. The executive committee chairman is the governor of Jeonbuk Province."

He continued, "Originally, in a system where the organizing committee chairpersons are joint, the main responsible agency is the executive committee chairman," adding, "Jeonbuk Province is the executive committee chairman, and the Minister of Gender Equality and Family is an auxiliary and supporting agency."

Ha Tae-kyung, Member of the People Power Party./Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

According to the official Jamboree website, the Jamboree Organizing Committee lists five joint organizing chairpersons, including Minister Kim, Minister Park Bo-gyun of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Minister Lee Sang-min of the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, while Kim Kwan-young, Governor of Jeonbuk Province, is named as the executive committee chairman.

Regarding this, Rep. Ha stated, "The primary responsibility lies with Jeonbuk Province, and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family has secondary responsibility. I have also criticized the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, but that is an evaluation of the ministry itself. When evaluating the Jamboree as a whole, primary responsibility should be attributed to Jeonbuk Province."

Rep. Ha, who has long advocated for the abolition of the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family, previously said in an MBC Radio interview on the 9th that "If the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family had been abolished, the event would have gone much better." However, this is interpreted as a claim that, separate from the issue of abolishing the ministry, Jeonbuk Province bears greater responsibility than the ministry for the Jamboree incident.

Regarding the president's responsibility, he said, "It is true that the president bears all responsibility," but added, "this is a moral responsibility, and the practical and legal responsibilities actually lie with the local governments."

He further stated, "If even this responsibility is attributed to the president, it is the same as going back to the era when presidents appointed governors and mayors," and added, "If all local government affairs are to be held accountable to the president in this way, then we should move to an appointment system."

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