Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
President-elect's national tour ahead of local elections sparks controversy
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol, fourth from left, and Kim Jin-tae, right, the People Power Party (PPP)'s candidate for Gangwon Province governor, visit Chuncheon Station, Gangwon Province, Wednesday to inspect railroad infrastructure. Yoon was accompanied by local election candidates from the PPP during his regional tour, which sparked controversy over the lack of political neutrality of the president-elect. Yonhap
By Kwon Mee-yoo
By Kwon Mee-yoo
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol wrapped up his tour of the country on Wednesday, visiting some 29 cities over 50 days. The last province he visited was the nation's northeastern province of Gangwon. Yoon's stated purpose was to listen to the voices of the people and reconfirm his regional pledges and balanced development policies.
Yoon's nationwide listening tour has sparked controversy among some lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), not because of his purpose, but because of the timing of his national tour. His tour came ahead of the June 1 local elections, prompting the DPK to state that the real goal of his tour is, in fact, an effort to influence the election results in favor of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).
On Wednesday, Yoon visited Gangwon Province with Kim Jin-tae, the PPP's candidate for the Gangwon Province governor post, and vowed to develop the region more.
"Gangwon Province hasn't developed properly and the people of Gangwon had disadvantages. I pledged during my presidential campaign that I would designate Gangwon as a special economic province and lift restrictions to encourage development," Yoon said during an inspection of the railroad infrastructure at Chuncheon Station, Gangwon Province.
Yoon promised to extend the GTX-B line to Chuncheon and expand other infrastructure in Gangwon Province when he was with Kim and other PPP candidates, who are running for other positions in the province.
However, Yoon did not go any further with his pledges, saying "I will soon be inaugurated as president and the local elections are just ahead, so I cannot recite my presidential pledges here," during his visit to a traditional market in Gangwon the same day.
When Yoon visited Gyeonggi Province on May 2, the PPP's candidates for Gyeonggi Province governor, Kim Eun-hye, and for Yongin mayor, Lee Sang-il, accompanied the president-elect and Kim Young-hwan, the PPP's candidate for North Chungcheong Province governor, and Kim Tae-heum, the PPP's candidate for South Chungcheong Province governor, were with Yoon during his visit to Chungcheong Province from April 28-29.
The DPK criticized Yoon for abusing his position to allegedly benefit the PPP.
"A president-elect whose inauguration is just a week away has influence equivalent to a president and should remain politically neutral. Yoon should be more cautious about endorsing candidates from his party ahead of taking presidential office," Lee So-young of the DPK said, Wednesday.
According to Rep. Jo Seoung-lae of the DPK, the National Election Commission (NEC) had earlier officially stated that the president-elect should refrain from involvement in the local elections.
Rep. Jo had inquired at the NEC earlier in February, before the presidential election, to check whether election laws banning public servants from meddling with or influencing local elections applied to the president-elect, in the case that a DPK candidate were to win the election.
The NEC had answered that considering the status of the president-elect, a president-elect should refrain from such activities as involvement in local elections, whether the election law on public servants applies to the president-elect or not.
However, the PPP dismissed the DPK's claims as "petty and embarrassing." Chairman Lee Jun-seok of the PPP said, "The DPK always objects (to the PPP) and is sullen over President-elect Yoon's tour around the country. They should stop it now."