Ruling party's leading presidential contender receives calls to quit governor post

Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Lee Jae-myung announces his plan to provide universal COVID-19 relief handouts to all residents in Gyeonggi Province, during a news conference at his office in Suwon, Friday. Yonhap

By Jung Da-min

Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung, the leading presidential contender of the liberal ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), is facing growing criticism from other presidential hopefuls of both the DPK and the conservative main opposition People Power Party (PPP). They say the governor is taking advantage of his post in the campaign for the presidential race, calling for Lee to quit as governor post to compete “fairly” in the next presidential election slated for March of next year.

Such criticism grew especially after the governor announced his decision to offer universal COVID-19 relief funds to all provincial residents, Friday, contrary to the central government's plan to provide selective relief payments for individuals in the bottom 88 percent income bracket, endorsed by the National Assembly in late July. The Assembly passed a 34.9 trillion won ($30 billion) extra budget bill to give out stimulus checks worth 250,000 won ($214) to each recipient.

But the governor of the country's most populous province, vowed to pay the same relief handouts to all provincial residents, including those who belong to the top 12 percent income bracket who have been excluded from the central government's relief grants.

“The severity of the damage caused by COVID-19 varies from person to person, but everyone is suffering,” Lee said during a press conference at the Gyeonggi Province Office. “All citizens who have been suffering together and actively cooperating with the government's social distancing measures, sharing the heavy burden, should be compensated equally.”

The governor said that the provincial government's provision of additional support to residents excluded from the support funds proposed by the central government, due to financial reasons, is to supplement and expand the central government's policy, and is also consistent with the principle of local autonomy of regional government offices.

But the other presidential contenders of both the DPK and the PPP immediately slammed Lee for breaking the “consensus” reached between the parties at the National Assembly, calling him a “populist.”

Gyeonggi Provincial Governor Lee Jae-myung, left, bumps fists with former ruling Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Lee Nak-yon at a studio in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday, after a YouTube livestream event to promote the policies of the DPK's presidential contenders. Yonhap

Former DPK Chairman Rep. Lee Nak-yon, a strong presidential contender whose support rate is second to the governor's within the ruling bloc, said that Governor Lee is causing conflict by offering preferential treatment to Gyeonggi residents, and disregarding the consensus of the government, the ruling party and Cheong Wa Dae.

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the leading presidential contender of the PPP who has often topped the polls of presidential hopefuls, said that Lee is using the governor post for his “populist cash handout plan.”

Rep. Yoon Chang-hyun, the director of the economic policy department of the former top prosecutor's election camp, said in a commentary, Saturday, “Is it fair for Governor Lee to pay even those in the high income bracket? . . . Lee must stop trying to misuse the people's money to support his own purposes.”

Critics say that Lee should either step down from the post or appoint an acting governor who could deal with both personnel issues and implementing the budget of Gyeonggi Province until the DPK's primary result comes out, to ensure fair competition. But according to the Public Official Election Act, Lee is allowed to hold the post until Dec. 9, three months prior to the presidential election, even if he wins the party primary in October.

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl, the leading presidential contender of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), speaks during a conference with experts to discuss their response to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, held at his election camp headquarters in Seoul's Jongno District, Thursday. Joint Press Corps

In the meantime, Lee's recent nomination of food columnist Hwang Kyo-ik as new CEO of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization (GTO) has also raised another controversy concerning fairness. After media reports about the nomination of Hwang last week, some critics said that Hwang lacks the expertise to take the post, because, even though he passed the public recruitment process, the position has always required a veteran with more than a decade of experience in relevant fields, before the requirements were adjusted to “a person with excellent external negotiation skills.”

Former Jeju Provincial Governor Won Hee-ryong of the PPP, who resigned from the governor position earlier this month for his presidential bid, claimed Saturday in a Facebook post that Lee nominated Hwang as the head of GTO to return thanks for Hwang's favors, as the columnist publicly defended Lee following a family argument, in which the governor was alleged to have used abusive language towards his sister-in-law, which left a negative image of the presidential contender among members of the public.