Lawmakers ask Lee Jae Myung government: 'Did you decide to scrap it and go into damage control?'
'Half the effort spent on Honam semiconductor cluster would be enough'
Jeon Jae-soo criticized for having 'no presence whatsoever as mayor'
People Power Party lawmakers from Busan, led by Busan chapter Chairman Lee Seong-kwon, held a press conference Monday morning at the Busan City Council briefing room, urging the Lee Jae Myung government to move swiftly on relocating Korea Development Bank to Busan. The gathering was a sharp rebuke of recent remarks by Financial Services Commission Chairman Lee Eok-won — who said at a national audit that he understood the relocation "had been settled as something that would not proceed" — and by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Jun-hyeon, who said earlier this month that the bank's relocation appeared to have been decided against.
Joined by lawmakers Kim Do-eup (Gangseo-gu), Lee Heon-seung (Busanjin-eul) and Baek Jong-heon (Geumjeong-gu), as well as city council members, the group said the government had signaled it would scrap the Korea Development Bank relocation on top of already shelving the special law designating Busan as a global hub city. "It would not be an overstatement to say that blocking Busan's future is the No. 1 governing priority of the Lee Jae Myung administration," they said.
The lawmakers warned that relocating Korea Development Bank to Busan was "a national task to build a new growth engine for South Korea, anchored in Busan as a financial hub," adding that if the plan fell through, it would entrench a Seoul-centered monopoly and erode the country's growth potential.
The group also took issue with conflicting signals from the government and the ruling party. While FSC Chairman Lee Eok-won and the Democratic Party lawmaker had made remarks widely read as signaling cancellation, Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Hong Ji-seon had stepped back, saying the matter was still under review. Lee Seong-kwon demanded clarity: "Make it clear whether this is simply a mix-up, or whether you have already decided to scrap it and are now managing the fallout."
The lawmakers particularly questioned why the government was carefully tending to the Honam semiconductor cluster — going so far as to revise guidelines on relocating a military airfield in Gwangju — while ignoring public sentiment in Busan over the bank's relocation. "All that remains is amending the law to move the headquarters to Busan," they said. "If even half the care devoted to the Honam semiconductor cluster were applied here, this could easily move forward."
On Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-soo, the lawmakers said they felt "not just frustrated but despairing," adding that Jeon had shown "no presence whatsoever as mayor" even as the central government signaled its intent to abandon the plan. They pushed back on remarks Jeon made last month — that Korea Development Bank "should come to Busan if it is included in the second round of public institution relocations, but if it says no, there is nothing to be done" — asking, "Is that to say you will do absolutely nothing?"
The group also pressed Busan Democratic Party chapter Chairman Park Hong-bae, who has said he supports the bank's move to Busan, to explain to citizens where he stands now that the government has raised the possibility of scrapping the relocation.
Asked about the possibility of joining forces with independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon — who said Sunday that "the 'promise' of relocating Korea Development Bank to Busan must be kept" and criticized the Lee Jae Myung administration for abandoning that pledge — the group drew a line. "We may speak with one voice on individual issues, but we are not considering a format where the party chapter formally aligns with him," they said.
kaf2002@heraldcorp.com
