Kim Rahn is the managing editor of The Korea Times. Since joining the company in 2003, she has covered various beats including the presidential office, Seoul city government, the Bank of Korea and the tourism industry. In 2014, she won the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) award for her coverage of the ordeals of migrant women in Korea.
HS Mayor offers vote on free meals
By Kim Rahn
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon proposed Monday a residents’ referendum on the free school meals program over which the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Council have been on a collision course.
The referendum, if held, would be the first of its kind in Seoul, and fourth in the nation. No local authority has decided on the controversial school lunch program through this means yet.
Oh’s proposal comes amid a months-long conflict between the city government and the council. Dominated by the opposition Democratic Party (DP), the council passed an ordinance and budget bill to provide free lunches to all students, but Oh refused to execute the budget and promulgate the ordinance. The council, which sued Oh for negligence for failing to implement the ordinance, promulgated it on Chairman Hu Kwang-tai’s authority on Jan. 6.
“I can’t overlook the situation in which Seoul’s municipal administration is crippled and the city’s future is neglected due to the issue of the free school meals program. I ask you Seoul citizens to express your opinions on the issue,” Oh said.
The council added 69.5 billion won to the budget to fund the free lunch program, while cutting budgets for many of Oh’s key development projects.
“The country will face a financial crisis if we uncritically accept the DP’s series of populist campaigns such as free lunches, free medical services and free childcare services. Seoul should be the first to stop it. The DP tells political lies as if the state has an inexhaustible fountain of wealth,” Oh said.
He said the citizens need to voice their input on whether to spend their money on the populist campaigns.
However, the majority of council members from the DP flatly rejected the proposal, calling it Oh’s tactic to pull himself out of the current stalemate he is responsible for.
“It’s a political gimmick to avoid responsibility for the deadlock over free school meals. It’s already been decided through the passage of the ordinance and budget. His intention to put it to a vote is quite dubious,” they said in a statement.
A referendum can be held under the council’s consent — it can request a poll from the mayor if more than half of the council members attend a meeting and over two thirds of the attendees consent to the poll.
If the council continues to oppose the proposal, Oh can use his authority to hold the vote, but over half of the council members are still required to attend and half of the attendees to consent.
The referendum can also be held regardless of the council’s decision if more than one 20th of citizens eligible for the vote request it from the mayor. In that case, signatures of at least 418,005 residents are needed.
The poll result is effective if more than a third of eligible voters cast ballots and more than half of the participants agree or disagree with the issue.