[Power Interview] Ha Ki-tae, Yeongcheon City Council speaker: 'I will build a productive council that works through cooperation, oversight and balance'

"The reason the council exists is the citizens. Our most important goal is to bring about real, tangible change that residents can feel — change that makes them say, 'The council has genuinely been transformed.'"

Ha Ki-tae, speaker of the Yeongcheon City Council for the first half of the 10th term, said Friday he would advance the council "one step further as a productive body that works on the basis of communication, cooperation and a balance of oversight."

Returning to the speakership after serving in the same role during the first half of the ninth term, Ha said the renewed mandate carries an expectation from citizens that he will build a council they can trust and that delivers results. "I will repay that trust through responsible legislative work," he said.

The operational direction Ha has set out rests on three pillars: an open council that communicates with citizens, a council that upholds principles and integrity, and a productive council that offers policy alternatives.

On the council's relationship with the city administration, Ha said neither unconditional cooperation nor indiscriminate checks would reflect what citizens want. "We will actively support policies that improve people's lives, but we will strictly scrutinize administrative loopholes and wasteful spending in accordance with our principles," he said.

Drawing on more than 30 years of administrative experience, Ha plans to reduce unproductive friction between the council and the city administration while fostering consensus on key issues and unity within the council itself.

He added that the council would engage with citizens directly in the community and pursue a clean, productive legislative environment grounded in a strong sense of ethics and accountability.

Yeongcheon faces a range of challenges, including population decline, the need to revitalize the local economy and the search for future growth engines.

Ha said he would pay close attention to livelihood issues such as local economic revitalization, strengthening agricultural competitiveness, expanding youth employment and improving welfare services.

He also plans to fulfill the council's oversight role by scrutinizing budget deliberations and administrative audits to ensure taxpayer money is spent properly, and by pushing for transparent and efficient governance.

Key local issues on the council's agenda include the relocation of the Korea Racing Authority headquarters to Yeongcheon, the relocation of the Second Ammunition Depot, the use of a former railway site, the construction of a public parking lot for tour buses at Yeongcheon Public Market, and the clearance of vacant properties.

Ha also intends to move away from mayor-centered meeting formats and strengthen policy discussions led by working-level officials — directors and division heads — to enable more rigorous scrutiny of issues and deeper deliberation, transforming the council into a genuinely productive institution that delivers practical solutions.

"Ultimately, the reason the council exists, and both the starting point and the destination of all legislative activity, is the citizens," Ha said. "I will listen more closely to their voices, resolve local issues one by one, and show results — not just words — so that people can feel that the council has changed."

He added: "I ask citizens to offer the Yeongcheon City Council their warm support and candid advice as we work to establish ourselves as a trusted institution. I will build a council that grows together with the people."