Oh Shin-hwan "Gimpo's Incorporation into Seoul, a 'Win-Win' from Seoul's Perspective"

With the upcoming general election next year, the 'Mega Seoul' plan has rapidly emerged as a political issue, and Oh Shin-hwan, the Innovation Committee member of the People Power Party and head of the Gwangjin-eul district party committee in Seoul, viewed it positively, saying it could be a win-win situation for Seoul as well.

On the 1st, Oh said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "Discussions related to the metropolitan area megacity theory or Mega City Seoul are not something that just came up a day or two ago."

On the 19th, Oh Shin-hwan, Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul, attended the 2022 Women Leaders Forum hosted by Asia Economy at Lotte Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, and listened attentively to the keynote speech. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

He added, "In Gimpo, there have actually been some discussions since I was the Deputy Mayor of Seoul with the Mayor of Gimpo, and regarding Hong Cheol-ho, the former member of the National Assembly from that area, such opinions have existed since he was an incumbent lawmaker. The reaction that this is just an election strategy by the opposition party or that it is somewhat abrupt is, in my opinion, an unnecessary debate. I firmly believe that efforts to align administrative authority and living zones are definitely necessary."

He explained that the incorporation of Gimpo into Seoul could create synergy from Seoul's perspective as well. Oh said, "In the case of Gimpo, from Seoul's standpoint, even within various policy areas that Seoul dreams of while I was the Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs, Gimpo has conditions that can create mutual win-win synergy. Especially regarding the Great Hangang Project promoted by Mayor Oh Se-hoon, if Seoul incorporates Gimpo, it can establish a foundation and base to expand outward as a global maritime city."

Regarding the controversy that arose after opposition lawmakers gave 'no-look handshakes' following President Yoon Seok-yeol's policy speech the previous day, and Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yong-min posted on social media that he said, "Stop after shaking hands with the president," Oh said, "It was a rude behavior. At a place where the president was explaining next year's budget and seeking cooperation, deliberately ignoring and rejecting him, and furthermore, mocking in that manner, I believe the public will accurately judge those actions."

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