With the 'Mega Seoul' Plan... Opposition Raises the 'Cheongong Hinterland Theory'

"Is Gimpo Annexation and General Election Strategy Also a Cheongong Directive?"
Cheongong Has Advocated 'Seoul-Gyeonggi Integration' Since Last Year
Ruling Party: "It's Just Rumors and Propaganda"

As the People Power Party pushes for the incorporation of Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province into Seoul, the Democratic Party of Korea has raised suspicions of a behind-the-scenes influence by the fortune teller Cheongong. There are allegations that the 'Mega City Seoul' plan was influenced by Cheongong's lectures.

Park Chan-dae, a senior member of the Democratic Party, revealed a video of Cheongong's lecture during the party's supreme council meeting on the 1st, saying, "There is a figure who appears every time a policy that is difficult to understand logically and reasonably comes out under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration."

The video, titled 'Lecture 13070: Capital Seoul, for the Development of Education and Tourism,' was uploaded on YouTube on the 25th of last month. In the video, Cheongong claims, "Gyeonggi Province and Capital Seoul are one, not two. To become Capital Seoul, they must be integrated," and adds, "Gyeonggi Province is entirely dependent on the energy from the center of Seoul, so all of it must be consolidated into Capital Seoul."

Cheongong said, "(If not integrated) schools, residential areas, bars, waste incineration sites, places of knife fights, and other small areas are all clustered together, causing all sorts of problems," and added, "The environment must be changed."

This is not the first time Cheongong has made such claims. In a YouTube lecture titled 'Lecture 11944: Discussion on Moving the Administrative Capital to Sejong City' on January 25 last year, he argued, "We should not move the administrative city but reorganize Seoul," and "All of Gyeonggi Province should be integrated to make it the capital of South Korea, Seoul."

In response, Senior Member Park said, "Isn't it quite natural to connect Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party's 'Gimpo Seoul incorporation claim' with Cheongong's 'Gyeonggi Province Seoul consolidation claim'?" He added, "Surely, they are not still firmly believing in Cheongong. I hope all of this is just coincidence after coincidence and merely a misunderstanding, not the truth."

Park Chan-dae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is seen with party leader Lee Jae-myung and other leadership members watching a video by shaman Cheongong, which was revealed at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 1st, containing the statement "Gyeonggi Province should be integrated into Seoul." Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Young-dae also criticized, saying, "The people are outraged." On the 31st, Shin posted on his social media under the title 'Is the Gimpo Seoul incorporation also a Cheongong directive?' stating, "The incompetent Yoon Seok-yeol government and ruling party are trying to forcibly change the country's framework. They say they will incorporate cities in Gyeonggi Province, including Gimpo, into Seoul," and added, "The criteria and grounds are still unclear. As approval ratings drop and election prospects worsen, they are recklessly pushing forward."

Shin said, "Cheongong's remarks strangely overlap with today's government and ruling party's announcement of the Mega City Seoul plan. Both talk about connecting education, culture, and transportation to enhance urban competitiveness," and expressed suspicion, "I even wonder if the general election strategy is also a directive from Cheongong."

On the other hand, the People Power Party rebutted, calling it "rumors and propaganda." Kim Jong-hyuk, head of the People Power Party's Goyang City Byeong district, appeared on SBS's 'Pyeon Sang-wook's News Briefing' on the 1st and said, "I have never watched any lectures by Cheongong, but it seems the Democratic Party members watch them diligently," adding, "Watching them watch so intently and then play such videos in the presence of their party leader, I thought, 'Is this a case of everything leading back to Cheongong?'"

Kim said, "Senior Member Park calls it a 'bizarre policy,' but proposing to incorporate Gimpo is a policy that a political party can certainly pursue," and added, "It is bizarre to play such broadcasts and make such remarks at the supreme council meeting. I hope they refrain from such bizarre actions."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party plans to propose a special law on the 2nd to promote the incorporation of Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province into Seoul. A task force (TF) to discuss the incorporation of Gimpo City into Seoul will also be launched on the same day.

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