Published 20 Apr.2022 16:42(KST)
Updated 16 Aug.2025 16:47(KST)
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Jin-hyung] Jang Yeon-ju, a preliminary candidate for mayor of Gwangju, stated on the 20th, “The Presidential Transition Committee announced that the government cannot artificially attract complex shopping malls and that investment is the responsibility of the private sector,” adding, “This is an admission that candidate Yoon’s campaign promise to attract a complex shopping mall during the presidential election was wrong.”
Candidate Jang Yeon-ju said, “The irresponsible offensive by the People Power Party, which made attracting private shopping facilities a key pledge rather than attracting specific manufacturing companies, has only left generational conflicts as wounds in Gwangju,” and urged, “President-elect Yoon should step forward and apologize directly to the citizens of Gwangju.”
He also said, “The Transition Committee’s lame excuse that the pledge was made because the political circle opposed and blocked it with political logic is not true,” adding, “Like major advanced countries that regulate the entry of large retail facilities, this was a natural coexistence measure to protect the livelihoods of citizens engaged in distribution and retail.”
He emphasized, “We must immediately recognize that Gwangju’s youth are leaving not because there is no complex shopping mall in Gwangju, but because there are no jobs,” and urged, “Candidates for mayor of Gwangju should immediately withdraw their irresponsible and inappropriate pledges to attract large corporate complex shopping malls.”
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