Yeo and New City Special Committee Criticize Yujeongbok for "Narrow-Minded Thinking" on Opposition to Gimpo Incorporation

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Jo Kyung-tae, chairman of the New City Project Special Committee of the People Power Party, directly targeted Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok, who publicly opposed the plan to incorporate Gimpo City in Gyeonggi Province into Seoul, saying, "Local leaders must break free from narrow-minded thinking and regional selfishness."

After concluding the first meeting of the special committee at the National Assembly on the morning of the 7th, Chairman Jo met with reporters and said, "Mayor Yoo's remarks fail to grasp the global trend of changes in urban administrative systems," adding, "I believe we need to have a direction that can contribute to national development."

On the 7th, at the People Power Party New City Project Special Committee meeting held at the National Assembly, Chairman Jo Kyung-tae is speaking. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Earlier, Mayor Yoo, a metropolitan mayor affiliated with the People Power Party, issued a statement on the 6th, declaring, "The plan to incorporate Gimpo City into Seoul Special City is an unrealistic illusion," and expressed full opposition to the party leadership's policy. Mayor Yoo urged, "I hope politics that truly consider the country and the people will emerge, moving away from political populism that tries to hide ignorance, incompetence, and irresponsibility."

Chairman Jo stated, "In fact, Seoul has been a driving force behind Incheon City's development," and emphasized the rationale for the Seoul Mega City by saying, "The people using Incheon Airport are not only Incheon citizens. Many even come from Busan."

Meanwhile, the New City Special Committee held its first meeting at the National Assembly on the same day, conducted a certificate awarding ceremony, and discussed future schedules. Chairman Jo said, "Seoul will serve as a catalyst to create a mega city axis of Seoul, Busan, and Gwangju, and further, a super-strong mega city connecting Daejeon and Daegu, and we will do our best to make this happen."

He continued, "Looking at recent international city rankings, Tokyo is ranked 4th globally, while Seoul has fallen to 14th," adding, "The New City Project Special Committee is an ambitious project aimed at elevating Seoul to one of the world's top five international cities and enabling regional cities to become healthy, self-sufficient cities."

The special committee plans to complete the mega city by listening to local residents and adopting a 'bottom-up' approach. Chairman Jo said, "Gimpo can be considered a model case. The past system was top-down. If the administrative system was artificially constructed by politicians or administrators, that is an outdated method," adding, "The future system must involve citizens, discussions, and sharing, and be bottom-up."

When asked whether mentioning Busan and Gwangju meant they were confirmed targets of the project, he replied, "If we say it's confirmed, that would be top-down," and added, "If the citizens of Busan and Ulsan sincerely want the mega city, we will actively join forces with them, and the same goes for Gwangju and Jeonnam."

On the 7th, at the meeting of the People Power Party's New City Project Special Committee held at the National Assembly, Chairman Jo Kyung-tae and the committee members are taking a commemorative photo. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The special committee plans to hold its second meeting at 10:30 a.m. on the 9th, receiving reports from related ministries including the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, Ministry of National Defense, and Seoul City. On the 16th, after deciding on the regions through discussions among committee members, they plan to visit the sites for the first time to hear the opinions of local residents.

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