President Lee Myung-bak |
By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak will hold a town hall meeting Friday night to address a controversy over the government's plan to amend the Sejong City project and other disputed issues, Cheong Wa Dae announced Tuesday.
The 100-minute-long meeting will be broadcast live from 10 p.m. on major television networks.
Lee is expected to appeal for public support for the administration in replacing the Sejong administrative town with a business belt for conglomerates, universities and institutes, a move fiercely protested by opposition parties.
He may also seek backing for the government's $19-billion scheme to refurbish four major rivers nationwide, which critics say will damage the environment and benefit only large builders.
"President Lee will unveil his positions on various social issues, including Sejong City, the river restoration project and those related to the livelihoods of ordinary people through question-and-answer sessions with panelists," presidential spokesman Park Sun-kyu told reporters.
"He will talk about the issues in a sincere manner. He will answer frankly any sensitive questions, too."
Cheong Wa Dae and MBC, the main operator of the meeting, are now working together to choose people to attend the meeting. Panelists will include Kim Yun-hee, head of the consulting firm Bain & Company; Kim Ho-ki, a sociology professor at Yonsei University; and Kim Jin, an editorial writer for the JoongAng Ilbo.
President Lee may offer an apology or express regret over Sejong City.
In 2005, as the mayor of Seoul, he opposed the relocation of government offices to Sejong. However, he changed his position during the 2007 presidential campaign in an apparent bid to appeal to voters in the Chungcheong provinces.
Also at issue is the four-river project, with the National Assembly set to hold budgetary sessions.
The main opposition Democratic Party has demanded a significant cut in the budget for the project, saying taxpayers' money will be wasted.
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