Opposition Parties Vow to Block Revision
By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak faces a crucial test of his leadership as opposition parties and the Park Geun-hye faction of the governing party made it clear they will attempt to block Lee's plan to revise the Sejong City project.
The reaction came after Lee apologized for breaking his promise to support the administrative city project, saying he would come up with better plans for Sejong City. The meeting was televised live nationwide Friday night.
Opposition parties plan to hit the street to block Lee's plan.
In addition, all 17 lawmakers of the Chungcheong-based Liberty Forward Party (LFP) vowed to tender their resignations.
President Lee had mentioned his backing for the original plan about 20 times since September 2006, according to Noh Young-min, spokesman of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP).
"It appears that the President has failed to persuade the people," said DP Chairman Chung Sye-kyun. "Regretfully, he rather provoked chaos among the people and politicians. It was like stirring up a hornet's nest."
Chung expressed his concern over President Lee's unilateral decision, saying that Lee has ignored the basic principles of parliamentary democracy.
"The President's arrogance and self-righteousness have reached a critical point," he said.
The DP leader added that President Lee should not have the illusion that he is right and the people are wrong.
Lee Hoi-chang, chairman of the smaller opposition LFP, was also firm that his party would resist any attempt to modify the $20 billion development plan.
"We will stand against any attempt or conspiracy to change the plan," he said.
The LFP chairman said that President Lee's change of mind had amplified public distrust in his administration.
"The only thing that the President left after the telecast was deep-seated distrust," the chairman said.
The two opposition parties plan to hold nationwide rallies against the revision this week.
They claim that President Lee's move will negatively affect 10 other industrial cities which are also under construction.
The former chairwoman of the governing Grand National Party also said she was against the revision, making it difficult for President Lee to revise the law at the National Assembly and scrap the original plan, made under the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration, to relocate nine ministries and four public agencies from Seoul to Sejong City.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Chung Un-chan, Saturday, backed the President's remarks, saying they were frank and persuasive.
During his visit to South Chungcheong Province, he also said that the government had no intention to downsize or get rid of the plan.
The prime minister argued that the government would make Sejong a new growth engine for the country, creating maximum synergy by combining science, education, economics and green technologies.
"The new plan for Sejong city is to make it better than it will be under the current plan," he said.
Chung said the other cities would not suffer as companies, which have already shown interest in moving to other provincial districts, will not qualify to establish businesses in Sejong.
leeth@koreatimes.co.kr
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