Busan PPP chapter demands Democratic Party leader clarify stance on KDB relocation

The People Power Party's Busan chapter issued a statement Wednesday demanding that Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok clarify his positions on relocating Korea Development Bank to Busan and on passing the Busan Development Special Act — issues the chapter raised during Kim's first Supreme Council meeting as party leader, which he held in the city.

Lee Seong-gwon, chairman of the PPP's Busan chapter, said in the statement that while he welcomed Kim's decision to hold the meeting in Busan and discuss the city's development with local PPP lawmakers, "the sincerity of the meeting can only be recognized if it becomes an occasion for responding to specific pending issues." The statement pressed Kim to answer calls for the KDB relocation and passage of the Busan Development Special Act — the city's two most pressing concerns.

Lee recalled that two years ago, when Kim visited Busan as a Supreme Council member, Kim had blamed the PPP for delays in the KDB relocation — a line Lee dismissed as "out-of-body rhetoric" — and asked whether Kim still opposes the move. Lee also pressed Kim on whether he agrees with President Lee Jae-myung, saying the president "has blocked the KDB relocation and dismissed the Busan Development Special Act as populism, while funneling tens of trillions of won in administrative integration benefits and hundreds of trillions of won in semiconductor investment into specific regions."

The statement said it would have been welcome had Kim "reflected on the president from his own party who has suppressed Busan public sentiment, and promised to persuade the president to push through the KDB relocation and the Busan Development Special Act — but we did not hear that." It added that the PPP "cannot give a generous assessment of his first visit to Busan since taking office," and urged Kim to "make his position on Busan public sentiment clear."

The statement also expressed disappointment with Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, who met with Kim that day. "He should have demanded the KDB relocation and passage of the Busan Development Special Act, but he did not," it said, adding, "We simply want to ask when he will demonstrate his political effectiveness."

Busan included KDB on its list of target institutions at a task force meeting on the second round of public institution relocations that Mayor Jeon chaired on Aug. 3. With Kim — who has long opposed moving KDB to Busan — now leading the Democratic Party, attention is turning to how the mayor will position himself on the relocation issue going forward.