Democratic Kimpo Assembly Members: "Kim Ki-hyun and Cho Kyung-tae, Who Claim 'Seoul Annexation,' Should Run in Kimpo"

"Multiple Disadvantages in Gimpo Due to Redistricting... Election-Driven Division"

Members of the Democratic Party of Korea representing Gimpo constituencies demanded on the 5th that Kim Gi-hyeon, leader of the People Power Party who is pushing for Gimpo City's incorporation into Seoul as party policy, and Cho Kyung-tae, chairman of the related special committee within the ruling party, "run for election in Gimpo in next year's general election."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At a press conference held at the National Assembly Communication Office on the same day, Kim Ju-young (Gimpo Gap) and Park Sang-hyuk (Gimpo Eul) said, "If the words of Leader Kim and Chairman Cho are not just bluster, and if elections are not a joke, then let's have a proper showdown in Gimpo."

They criticized the incorporation of Gimpo into Seoul, stating, "The special city authority of Gimpo will be reduced to the level of one autonomous district under Seoul, resulting in the loss of urban planning authority, a budget cut of several hundred billion won, and increased taxes for citizens." They added, "It will also become impossible for children to enroll under the rural-urban complex city special admission system they previously enjoyed," and pointed out, "Given these numerous disadvantages, there was a need for sufficient prior deliberation to minimize the disadvantages."

They continued, "The People Power Party, which suffered a crushing defeat in the Gangseo by-election, should not have raised this issue as a matter for the general election," but also said, "Nevertheless, if Gimpo can be reborn as a premium self-sufficient city, we are open to discussing it with the citizens."

Kim and Park stated, "Since Leader Kim's sudden announcement, Gimpo citizens have been demanding 'transportation first' and 'absolutely no incorporation into Seoul that only handles Seoul's garbage in name only,'" and presented demands for improving transportation conditions and prohibiting the relocation of undesirable facilities. They emphasized, "Facilities such as landfill sites and incinerators are absolutely unacceptable," and added, "There is a strong concern that if Gimpo is incorporated into Seoul, all of Seoul's troublesome facilities might be moved to Gimpo."

Regarding transportation, they demanded the confirmed extension of subway lines 5 and 9 to northern Gimpo, exemption from preliminary feasibility studies, and inclusion of the necessary budget in this year's budget proposal. They also urged the early confirmation of the GTX-D line connection to Gangnam and the abolition of tolls on the Ilsan Bridge, which is a crossing point for Gimpo citizens.

After the press conference, Kim told reporters, "Isn't the ruling party saying that after Gimpo, the next target is short selling? This is a plan to divide the people ahead of the general election," criticizing the move. Park also pointed out, "Normally, government legislation and coordination among ministries for legislation is the proper administrative district reorganization procedure, but proceeding like this suddenly after losing the by-election proves that this is for the general election."

The two had not issued any statements for six days since Leader Kim first raised the claim for Gimpo City's incorporation into Seoul on the 30th of last month, but released their position on this day.

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