Heo Jong-sik, newly elected chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea's Incheon chapter, moved swiftly after taking office to launch policy coordination with Mayor Park Chan-dae's 9th elected city government.
Heo met with Park on Saturday, the day he was elected chapter chairman, and agreed to hold a party-government council between the Democratic Party's Incheon chapter and the city government this month. He announced Sunday that both sides would focus their efforts on securing budget funding to stabilize livelihoods and resolve local issues ahead of the Chuseok holiday.
The council will be the first formal party-government cooperation forum since the new leadership took over, and is expected to set the tone for how the Democratic Party's Incheon chapter and the 9th elected city administration will work together going forward.
The agenda is expected to go beyond routine policy discussions, with a particular focus on securing national government funding for Incheon during the budget drafting and National Assembly review process.
The council will prioritize issues that directly affect residents' daily lives and the local economy.
Chief among them is the question of national government support for Incheon e-eum, the city's local currency gift card program. As a key instrument for stimulating local consumption and supporting small business owners and the self-employed, whether the program receives national funding is expected to significantly shape its future direction.
Traffic disruptions caused by the Seoul Metropolitan Government's construction work on Gukhoe-daero, and measures to address the inconvenience for Incheon residents, are also on the agenda.
The crisis surrounding Homeplus, the large retail chain, will also be addressed as a local economic issue. With fears of mass job losses and potential damage to commercial districts near its stores, the Democratic Party's Incheon chapter believes both the central government and local authorities need to develop a response.
Heo plans to use the council to jointly review these issues with the city and press the central government and National Assembly for the necessary support.
Incheon's push to secure national budget allocations for next year will also hinge on the role of local lawmakers serving on the National Assembly's Special Committee on Budget and Accounts.
Three Incheon-area lawmakers currently sit on the budget committee: Kim Gyo-heung of Seo-gu Gap, Heo Jong-sik of Dong-gu Michuhol-gu Gap, and Kim Nam-jun of Gyeyang-eul.
Heo intends to build close coordination with these budget committee members and other Incheon-area lawmakers to ensure the city's key projects are reflected as fully as possible in the government's budget proposal.
He also plans to establish a phased response framework — from the budget drafting stage through National Assembly review and appropriations increases — to improve the chances of securing national funding for local projects.
Another keyword Heo is emphasizing is "one team."
The idea is to unite the capabilities of 130 Democratic Party elected officials in Incheon — including National Assembly members, the mayor, district mayors, and city and district council members — to push the city's agenda with the central government and the National Assembly.
Heo envisions making the party-government council a standing cooperation mechanism rather than a one-off event, with National Assembly members, local government and local councils each taking on defined roles for key issues.
With the Democratic Party's Incheon chapter now under new leadership following the launch of Park Chan-dae's 9th elected city government, how closely the chapter and the city can align on policy and budget matters will be closely watched.
Heo made clear his determination to concentrate the chapter's efforts on resolving Incheon's livelihood issues and securing national funding, starting with the party-government council.
"I will bring together the capabilities of 130 elected officials — National Assembly members, local government heads and local council members — to deliver results that residents can feel," he said. "I want Democratic Party elected officials in Incheon to earn the reputation of getting things done, so that Incheon residents can say so around the Chuseok table."
By agreeing to hold the party-government council immediately after the new leadership took office, Heo in effect made securing livelihood-related budget funding his first order of business.
Ultimately, whether the council translates into concrete budget wins and solutions to pressing local issues will serve as the first report card for the "one team" vision Heo has put forward.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
