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| Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon answers a question during a National Assembly audit session, Thursday. / Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
Ruling Saenuri Party lawmakers grilled Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon about his policies, including turning the overpass next to Seoul Station into a flowery high line, at Thursday's parliamentary audit.
Park's attendance at the parliamentary inspection of the Security and Public Administration Committee carried extra weight, given that he is considered a potential presidential candidate for the liberals in the next presidential election.
In addition, the construction is expected to be the largest project during his tenure, so many believe that Park is seeking to burnish his legacy with the project en route to the 2017 election.
In that respect, Park faced harsh questions from the ruling party, which accused the mayor of pushing ahead with the plan by force.
"Despite strong opposition from local citizens and those doing business near the area, as well as government bodies, including the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Seoul Metropolitan Government continues to push the project," said Rep. Jeong Yong-ki of the Saenuri Party.
"It is far from Park's governance policy to communicate with citizens."
Deeming the 45-year-old overpass to be unsafe, Park plans to start establishing a "Sky Garden" in November to be completed by 2017.
However, merchants at Seoul Station and Namdaemun Market have protested against the plan, fearing that their businesses will struggle after the park is completed.
In addition, government offices oppose it, citing possible traffic congestion.
Rep. Suh Chung-won, another Saenuri lawmaker, said, "Before building the public green space, the city government needs to handle potential traffic problems around Seoul Station. Unilaterally pushing the policy will not help those who will suffer from traffic jams."
The ruling party's Chin Young said that the two traffic impact assessments regarding the Sky Garden, by the Seoul city and the Road Traffic Authority, are different, insisting that the mayor seek measures for citizens with accurate data and objective verification.
In response to the tough questioning, Park said that he has met with local communities and relevant organizations to ease opposition.
"As for traffic jams, I have discussed ways to solve that with local groups," Park said.
Along with the overpass project, Rep. Kang Gi-yun attacked the mayor for his frequent absences from Cabinet meetings presided over by President Park Geun-hye.
Among 17 mayors and governors, the Seoul mayor is the only one required to attend the meeting.
According to Kang, Mayor Park's attendance rate from 2011 to July of this year was 10.6 percent ― 22 attendances out of 208 meetings, including four this year.
"Amid the growing importance of local government systems, close cooperation between the central and local governments really counts," Kang said.
Park explained that enormous problems with municipal administration have caused him to miss many of the Cabinet meetings, but he vowed to attend them more frequently.
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