GNP rejects referendum on four-river project

By Lee Tae-hoon

The ruling party snubbed the main opposition party’s proposal, Thursday, to hold a referendum to decide the fate of the four-river restoration project, one of the largest infrastructure projects ever in Korea with a budget of more than 20 trillion won ($18 billion).

“The four-river refurbishment project is a legitimate state-initiated project and about one third of it has already been completed,” Rep. Kim Moo-sung, floor leader of the Grand National Party (GNP), said.

“It is also not an issue that should be put to a vote for approval in a national referendum.”

The Constitution stipulates that the president can put major policies on diplomacy, defense, unification and other matters concerning national security to a referendum.

Kim claimed that the four-river project falls short of the constitutional requirement for holding a referendum, saying that the project does not threaten national security.

His remarks were made after the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) called for a public vote on the river-dredging project on the grounds that it would lead to negative environmental consequences and a budget crisis.

The DP claims that the project will likely cost more than twice the government’s estimate of 22 trillion won. It argues that it may seriously undermine the country’s welfare budget and will possibly endanger national security.

Kim, however, labeled the DP’s opposition as a political ploy that the public does not want.

“The feasibility and importance of the project has been thoroughly reviewed and all of its construction and administrative procedures have been transparently managed and open to the public,” he said.