[News Fighting] Kim Byung-min, "Han Dong-hoon should bring out a new political reform agenda, not 'Earth Party Resurrection'."

[YTN Radio News Fighting Bae Seunghee]
□ Broadcasting: FM 94.5 (07:15 - 09:00)
□ Broadcast date and time: October 24, 2024 (Thursday)
□ Host: Attorney Bae Seung-hee
□ Castor: Kim Byung-min, Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul Metropolitan Government

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

[YTN Radio <News Fighting, Bae Seunghee]> Please reveal that it's about the interview.

◆ Attorney Bae Seung-hee (hereinafter referred to as Bae Seung-hee): I'm Bae Seung-hee, the news fighting. The second part starts. We invited Kim Byung-min, a former member of the Supreme Council of the People's Power and now the No. 1 salesperson of Seoul, to the studio of the Seoul Metropolitan Government's deputy mayor for political affairs. Hello,

◇Kim Byung-min, Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Seoul (hereinafter referred to as Kim Byung-min): Hello. Nice to meet you.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: It is said that the Seoul Metropolitan Government will make the entire section of the ground railway underground and create a large-scale green space. Isn't this amazing news?

◇Kim Byung-min: Yes, the news was quite big yesterday. I think people living in Seoul have probably been to Yeontral Park, the so-called Gyeongui Line Forest Road, at least once. You'll think that the old railroad path is changing so nicely. It is a long period of about 68km connecting downtown Seoul from the southwest to the eastern part of Seoul. If you count this as an area, it's about 370,000 pyeong. The Seoul Metropolitan Government has now begun to open its first shovel to create a second Yeontral Park. I can tell you the plan. an underground railway system called
If I tell you that I plan to return the track site of Shenyoung
to the citizens by creating a large-scale green space network, and add one more meaning to this, the railway road I mentioned is located in the southwestern part of Seoul, which is relatively underdeveloped. So, if the space passing through the ground section of the railroad is reorganized into a green space as I said now, I think it will be of great help to the balanced development of Seoul.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Was it the idea of Mayor Oh Se-hoon?

◇Kim Byung-min: Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is also a pledge for the 8th popular election.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: I think you draw a lot of big pictures. Like in the past.

◇ Kim Byung-min: He makes me become a reality again.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: If this becomes a reality this time, I think it will be a great business since there are not many green spaces in Seoul.

◇Kim Byung-min: Soon, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport plans to select a leading business site, but anyway, we will work hard to be selected well and make good plans come true.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: That's amazing. And they are also planning a Han River bus project. Is the Han River bus project continuing?

◇Kim Byung-min: Of course. Han River Bus. Isn't there a Mangwon-dong near Sangam-dong here? A total of seven docks will be established in Magok, Mangwon, Yeouido, Jamwon, Oksu, Ttukseom, and Jamsil Han River, which will operate 68 times on weekdays every 15 minutes. So, so-called next spring, the Han River will have a new means of water public transportation. There were many questions about the opposition lawmakers' interest in the parliamentary audit, but I would like to say that the project is going well and that we are preparing well for citizens to meet the major changes in the Han River next spring.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. Also, how about the stepping stone income that Seoul is doing?

◇Kim Byung-min: You've heard of safe income in the past, but I don't know if you'll say what's the stepping stone income. I changed my name through a citizenship contest. Stepping stone income means that it will serve as a stepping stone to give new opportunities to citizens. Welfare Policy that can provide strong support to those in financial difficulty The Seoul Metropolitan Government is now conducting a pilot project, and the government supports half of the household income that is lacking based on 85% of the median income. If you distribute the same money to everyone, like basic income, the government's financial resources are limited, so can't you end up with the government's financial resources? For example, assuming a population of 50 million people, a basic income of 300,000 won per month is given. It won't be enough, but if it goes like that, the funds will be about 185 trillion won. I can't handle it. Here, I would like to tell you that the Seoul Metropolitan Government is carrying out a pilot project that can be expanded to the whole country and a welfare and financial structure designed as a summer house for those in real need.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: You mean that the Seoul Metropolitan Government is leading the way. You also mentioned the parliamentary audit earlier, but the mayor's attitude at the parliamentary audit and his remarks toward the Democratic Party members made a lot of headlines.

◇Kim Byung-min: That's right. It seems that quite a lot of videos have been reported where the mayor said, "What sin is the head of the audited organization?" At the parliamentary audit, the deputy mayor was sitting right next to the mayor, so I was sitting next to him, and my heart was very stuffy. Because lawmakers are given the first seven minutes or so. Then you have to ask questions and listen to the answers for 7 minutes. But they don't give you time to ask questions and listen to answers. And I heard a lot of citizens who responded by saying that they were very impressed by the appearance of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who strongly appealed that he would give about 30 seconds to answer after 7 minutes, but even that, he was not given a chance.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Mayor Oh Se-hoon again. Now he seems to have his own voice on various issues, but the mayor said last time that there is a 51% chance of running for president. Is it getting higher?

◇Kim Byung-min: I don't know what's going on here because I haven't been able to look into the head of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, but I've been listening to lawyer Bae Seung-hee's story on TV in the past. A little time has passed since then, but I think I can tell you that more and more people are expressing interest in central politics about Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: The mayor also said 51%, so wouldn't we go for plus rather than minus?

◇ Kim Byung-min: As I just said, it's a bit frustrating watching the politics of the Republic of Korea. And since Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon is also a member of the ruling party, the ruling party should give hope to the people with a sense of stability, but I think it can be said that many people are expressing interest in Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who has worked stably and with very proven administrative capabilities.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: I think there's probably a lot of interest in the party as well. What counterpoint should I say with CEO Han Dong-hoon? Oh Se-hoon vs. Han Dong-hoon. Do you expect this? What do you think?

◇Kim Byung-min: I don't think it's appropriate to talk about politics because I'm a public servant. The most important thing is that the halfway point of the president's term has not yet turned. After calculating, I took office on May 10, 2022, so it will be about two and a half years by November. So, since there are probably concerns about united efforts to lead the state administration in a stable manner, the mayor of Seoul is doing his best to give hope to citizens as the mayor of Seoul. After the mayor of Seoul, I think the people will give a good evaluation on these areas.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: You mentioned the evaluation, but if you look at the results of the election of the superintendent of education of Seoul in this by-elections. In fact, Oh Se-hoon was very ahead of the market. But I think the election of the superintendent of education is a little different. How do you rate it?

◇ Kim Byung-min: In the local elections held two years ago, it won more than 400 units in Seoul that will probably be a historic achievement. Looking at it now, it's hard to imagine, but at that time, I held the election together as a spokesman. The message I talked about whenever I opened my mouth was accompanied by the weak. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is still a special city of companion charm, so the company of the weak is the first vision of the city administration. I think politics for people who are in need is a basic destiny, but there are still so many people around us who are economically difficult and struggling, including self-employed people. However, when I look at the news, they say a lot about who is in charge of our lives in this difficult and confusing situation in the political world. If we work hard based on the basic banner of a meeting of the weak, I also expect that we will be able to make up for a lot of the things we expected in the past.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: If the citizens' reaction is a bit like that, are you evaluating that things such as establishing an angle with representative Han Dong-hoon in the party were a little unstable?

◇ Kim Byung-min: Since I'm not in a political position, I think quite a few people are still talking about what the people are expecting, the efforts of the political community to take care of the lives of the people.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. But now, representative Han Dong-hoon and representative Lee Jae-myung will meet again, and I think there will be some talk of reviving the district party between the two party leaders. By the way, Mayor Oh Se-hoon seems to be in a position against the revival of the district party. What do you think?

◇ Kim Byung-min: I think you probably remember all three political reform laws called the Oh Se-hoon Act. In the past, Korean politics was very chaotic through dark money politics, but one of the situations that completely reformed politics through the Oh Se-hoon Act is also included in this district party issue. The reason for the voice that the district party should be revived is that there is a consensus on the aspects that are very difficult to work because we do not have actual legal status and authority in each regional unit called the party's cooperation. But if the district party is revived, another vested interest will be formed. If there is a political reform agenda that the leaders of the ruling and opposition parties should meet and do now, you saw the election of the superintendent of education, right? How low is the turnout? Since there are so many agendas for political reform, it would be better to bring up a political reform agenda that meets the public's eye level. When I thought about it and asked the people about the revival of the district party through a poll, many people still say that this is their interest in a league that has nothing to do with the lives of the people.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. But the listener asked me a question about the revival of the district hall. I hope you can explain in detail what kind of organization the district hall is and the evils of this district hall. He's doing it.

◇Kim Byung-min: To put it very easily, we all have lawmakers in our neighborhood. However, the other party that went out of the parliamentary election is also working to manage the local organization, and now the party council, the regional committee. However, under the law of the Republic of Korea, we have a legal status for metropolitan cities and provinces such as Seoul, Gyeonggi-do, but there is no legal status for the units below it. Since there is no legal status in the activity itself, the voices of the revival of the district party were centered on the chairman of the party's cooperation committee and the regional chairman, asking for an office here so that they can receive donations. On the contrary, however, some say that if you receive office donations and activate them, there will be negative side effects like money politics in the past. If you dream of reforming politics without spending money, there are many voices that say it is more important to bring out a new political reform agenda suitable for the present era because some people remove all the messy banners posted everywhere and even the district party office dismiss them as the old way of the past.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: So why did CEO Han Dong-hoon insist on reviving this district party?

◇ Kim Byung-min: I think he responded to the voice of the chairman of the committee because the chairman of the committee has a desire to resolve the difficulties in the region through the revival of the district party.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Is Mayor Oh Se-hoon still in a negative position?

◇Kim Byung-min: I think it is the future of political reform that the mayor of Seoul is looking at to always pursue a new political reform agenda in line with the purpose of the 2004 Oh Se-hoon Act.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: But I think Mayor Oh Se-hoon must have been in trouble because of the list of pollack bacteria. Myeong Taekyun asked me if I should be the mayor of Seoul or the president. That's what he claimed.

◇Kim Byung-min: There's nothing particularly difficult about it. And contradictions arise from here about the remarks that Myung Tae-kyun said. Because I met him for the first time, and as soon as I saw him, I was wondering if he would be the mayor of Seoul or the president, but the reason this doesn't add up is because. I've already declared that I'll be the mayor of Seoul. I don't know if it would be convincing if you said you would help someone to become the mayor of Seoul if they came to help with the election after declaring that you would be the mayor of Seoul, but as soon as I saw you here, it would be a little strange if I suddenly asked lawyer Bae Seung-hee if he would be on air for the first time or if he would be in politics. So it became widely known that former lawmaker Kim Young-sun introduced it here and there at that time, but with the introduction of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun, I made it clear that there was only the first and second meeting and the relationship was not continued since then.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: That's why I'm saying it's groundless, do you take legal action?

◇Kim Byung-min: At that time, the National Audit Office said that I wrote a complaint about Myung Tae-kyun through a question from an opposition lawmaker. In fact, we've even reviewed the complaint and filed it right away, but isn't there a mixture of facts and truth in a chaotic situation? There are a lot of characters. However, if we file the first complaint here, we may become a key character, so we wrote a complaint and further warned that the situation will not worsen, and we suggested that we wait and see what discussions will proceed in the future.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. Didn't the Seoul Metropolitan Government make a decision regarding TBS now?

◇ Kim Byung-min: The Seoul Metropolitan Council abolished the ordinance.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: I abolished the ordinance. What do you think? What is the mayor's position in Seoul?

◇ Kim Byung-min: I have very sad feelings. I think you've seen a lot of what you've talked about because a reference came out during the parliamentary audit. Rather than talking about objective truths, many people would have felt that they spoke a little more politically in the parliamentary audit. Because the reference person's remarks were the writer of the show Kim Eo-jun hosted, I think there must have been a lot of confusion inside whether he is speaking out with the representation of the entire TBS. Since the members remain, the Seoul Metropolitan Government is always thinking deeply about how the TBS broadcast will proceed, but the content that they acted politically to get rid of a specific broadcasting station does not fit at all. It is about the problems brought by the broadcast in the past due to numerous legal sanctions, so I think many citizens will feel sorry for Kim Eo-jun's broadcast in the past and the present of TBS.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: So the Seoul Metropolitan Government's official stance?

◇ Kim Byung-min: Since the city council ordinance was abolished, the Seoul Metropolitan Government went through the process of terminating the funding institution after that, and now it is an independent corporation from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, so there are members who want private capital to come in and TBS to have its own normalized functions. I tried to provide a lot of help for that, but in the end, the revision of the articles of incorporation needs to be approved by the Korea Communications Commission. As you know, the Korea Communications Commission is not currently performing its normal functions, so I would like to say that if there is any help that the Seoul Metropolitan Government can give in the administrative process, we are making efforts to give it hard.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Yes. Since you're the mayor, you have no choice but to compare it with Gyeonggi-do. I have an opportunity income in relation to Governor Kim Dong-yeon. What do you think?

◇ Kim Byung-min: Governor Kim Dong-yeon must have devised various policies to benefit the residents while leading the Gyeonggi provincial government. I understand that opportunity income will compensate for social contributions that are not compensated in the social value market. So, I think we will mainly guarantee sportsmen, farmers, and care participants with opportunity income that they do not receive in the market. But isn't it true that the income of that opportunity alone can't provide financial help to everyone in need? Therefore, the evaluation of international experts on the stepping stone income that the Seoul Metropolitan Government is currently conducting a pilot project is also evaluated as a very exemplary new social welfare model. Therefore, there is a high possibility that the stepping stone income that can realize accompanying the weak with a lot of economic difficulties will be nationalized in the future, so please pay a lot of attention to it.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: When it comes to Gyeonggi-do governor, we can't help but talk about corporate credit cards.

◇Kim Byung-min: Former governor of Gyeonggi Province.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Do you have a corporate card in Seoul?

◇Kim Byung-min: There's everything.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Is that so? be personally useful in relation to the corporate card I can't imagine anything like this. If the mayor asks you to provide data when he did something wrong in the past, does the Seoul Metropolitan Government provide data?

◇Kim Byung-min: Everything is transparently disclosed in the Seoul Metropolitan Government when it goes on its website.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: I see. I see. The Democratic Party of Korea launched a new Seoul preparatory committee to win the 2026 local elections. Representative Park Joo-min, who is considered a candidate for the next Seoul mayor in the Democratic Party of Korea, was in charge of the chairman. How did you see this?

◇ Kim Byung-min: I've heard that the new Seoul Special Committee is active, and I've seen some negative reviews of the projects that the Seoul Metropolitan Government is doing well recently. Political parties may have different values and philosophies, so I think it's a very natural activity to play a role accordingly.I think that public interest for citizens and the people should be the top priority. However, sound criticism is always welcome because if the government or state administration is put first for its own politics, not for public interest, the damage can go to the people, but the people know it over time. I think the people and citizens evaluate the content that they did this to run later or that they really did politics to find a new alternative to sound criticism in a given position.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: That's right. The ruling was made this time because Ilsan Bridge tolls were made free when he was governor of Gyeonggi-do Province. How about comparing it with the Seoul Metropolitan Government while looking at those parts of cancellation?

◇Kim Byung-min: I think you're talking about CEO Lee Jae-myung now. Didn't the news continue to be talked about by these negative factors as a lot of what happened during the period in the province ran for political participation? Rather, I think the most exemplary model can lead to a positive campaign that people can see hope in another area later because their experiences in charge of provincial administration and correction have been good at these things when evaluated by the people. So I think it's important to try to get the first evaluation positively in a given position.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: The relationship between the head of the local government and the president's ruling party also seems important. Now, the party leader and the president of Yoon Suk Yeol are showing a slightly different path. How can we evaluate it from the perspective of the head of the local government? Also, from Mayor Oh Se-hoon's point of view, I would like to hear if there is a clue to solving the problem of First Lady Kim Gun-hee.

◇Kim Byung-min: When I go to work in the morning, I read almost all the newspapers. I look at the newspaper more carefully than I did when I was commenting on the broadcast before. However, I don't think the news changes much after one month and two months. If you look at the newspaper, there are news of the ruling party and the opposition party, but the news of the ruling party is always in conflict. I hope we can see some new news here. I think there are a lot of people who think about it. It's very important to criticize and speak out to the wrong voice, but if there's not a moment that's important, but if it continues to happen indefinitely, you'll complain a lot about the frustration. So sometimes news that can create positive synergy while working together is also important. The Seoul Metropolitan Government is making efforts to make these things happen, but the low birth rate problem is serious, so the policy to solve it and the housing problem is so serious recently, so we are making a lot of efforts to put these things together.

◆ Bae Seung-hee: Okay. I didn't have enough time today. I'll bring you back next time and listen to you. This has been Kim Byung-min, deputy mayor for political affairs in Seoul. Thank you.

◇Kim Byung-min: Thank you.