Kim Dong-yeon: "If President Yoon remains silent on Seoul expansion, it means condoning, aiding, and cooperating"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon is announcing the official position on the incorporation of Gimpo City into Seoul at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government briefing room on the 6th.

Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Dong-yeon once again called the controversy over the incorporation of Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province into Seoul a "national deception" and insisted, "Now President Yoon Suk-yeol must respond to this." Furthermore, he directly criticized, "If President Yoon continues to remain silent about this self-contradiction, self-defeating, and comedy-like show, it can only be seen as tacit approval, collusion, and complicity."

Governor Kim emphasized this in his "Official Position on Seoul Expansion" following a briefing on the "2024 Budget Proposal" held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office on the 6th.

First, Governor Kim expressed his outrage, saying, "The ruling party's claim of Seoul expansion is a national deception, showing no concern for the country's future and treating the citizens of Gimpo merely as votes in an election political show. As the governor of Gyeonggi Province, I am truly dismayed at where the Republic of Korea is heading."

He continued, "The Seoul Republic is not the path forward for the Republic of Korea," emphasizing, "All past progressive and conservative presidents have upheld the grand principles of local autonomy, decentralization, and balanced national development for the advancement of Korea."

Moreover, he said, "It is tragic that the fundamental values of preventing excessive concentration in Seoul and averting local extinction are being undermined by the ruling party's general election strategy," adding, "For a prosperous Korea, I will unite with other metropolitan local government heads. Criticism is already emerging among ruling party local government heads and senior lawmakers."

He then urged the government, saying, "The Gyeonggi Northern Special Autonomous Province promoted by Gyeonggi Province is a bold policy for balanced national development, local autonomy, and decentralization. It has already undergone public opinion gathering, passed a resolution in the provincial council, and requested a referendum from the central government," and called for "prompt preparation and decision-making to proceed with the referendum."

Governor Kim particularly stated, "The Gyeonggi Northern Special Autonomous Province has gone through vision setting, policy formulation, public opinion gathering, provincial council review, and resolution. In contrast, the incorporation of Gimpo City into Seoul is a political show that came out of nowhere without preparation, merely an election ploy to gain votes," and insisted, "President Yoon Suk-yeol must directly respond to stop the division of national opinion, public confusion, and the waste of national energy on this issue as soon as possible."

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