Korea visits Uijeongbu – Han Dong-hoon, chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the People Power Party, is examining the Camp Red Cloud building, a grant site for the return of U.S. forces stationed in Korea, in Uijeongbu-si , Gyeonggi-do on the 16th. /Journalist Jang Ryeon-seong
Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee of the People’s Power Party Han Dong-hoon visited Uijeongbu, Gyeonggi Province on the 16th and said: “As soon as the 22nd National Assembly opens, the People’s Power Party will propose and will promote the single bill for the incorporation of Seoul.” and division of Gyeonggi Province.’” They reiterated their position that they will simultaneously pursue the incorporation of some parts of Gyeonggi Province into Seoul and the division of Gyeonggi Province. Previously, the People Power Party announced a promise to incorporate Seoul in October last year, under former leader Kim Ki-hyun, and President Han said on the 31st of last month that he would simultaneously push for the incorporation of Seoul and the division of Gyeonggi-do into North and South.
Gyeonggi Bundo Island is a commitment that reflects the needs of residents of the northern Gyeonggi region, which is underdeveloped and has limited development due to its proximity to North Korea and the upper reaches of the Han River. The People Power Party’s position is that the division of Gyeonggi Province is feasible as Gyeonggi Governor Kim Dong-yeon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, has also pledged to establish a “self-governing special province of North Gyeonggi.” However, Governor Kim said on the 5th: “The establishment of North Gyeonggi Special Autonomous Province (promoted by Gyeonggi Province) and the issue of incorporating Gimpo into Seoul (promoted by the ruling party) are not compatible.” It is said that “the incorporation of Seoul,” which increases the influence of Seoul, and “the incorporation of Gyeonggi Province,” which aims to increase the competitiveness of the North Gyeonggi Region, are incompatible.
The theory of economic division was advanced in earnest in the late 1980s and has been repeated in every subsequent election, but it has not yet been realized. There was great concern that dividing the issue between North and South could worsen the competitiveness of the underdeveloped North, and because it was used as an electoral issue, political interests conflicted and an agreement could not be reached. During the 1987 presidential election, the Democratic Justice Party and during the 1992 presidential election, candidate Kim Young-sam presented division as a promise. Subsequently, commitments were also made in the 2004 general elections, 2014 local elections and 2016 general elections. A bill was also proposed. In May 2017, 27 people, including People Power Party lawmaker Kim Seong-won and then-President of the National Assembly Moon Hee-sang in March 2018, proposed a bill related to the distribution of Gyeonggi-do, but it was not approved.
In this regard, Kim Do-nyeon, professor of architecture at Sungkyunkwan University, said: “The key to a megacity is how effectively Seoul and nearby cities share infrastructure.” Dankook University professor Kim Hyun-soo, who served as president of the Korea Land, Infrastructure and Urban Planning Society, said: “Residents’ lives cannot be improved just by incorporating some areas into Seoul or dividing them into Gyeonggi Province “. it can only develop if new growth industries enter,” he said.
There are also fears that if key cities in North Gyeonggi Province, such as Goyang City, are incorporated into Seoul and divided at the same time, development in North Gyeonggi Province could slow further. Professor Kim Do-nyeon said: “After the partition, Gyeonggi Province may become the poorest province in the country.” On the other hand, Kim Si-gon, a professor at Seoul National University of Science and Technology, said: “With the development of transportation such as GTX (Metropolitan Rapid Transit), we are inevitably heading towards the transformation into a megacity ”. He added: “The northern Gyeonggi region, which is not incorporated into Seoul, will also benefit from the expansion of infrastructure such as railways and roads.” “It’s not that they’re alienated because it’s something,” he said.
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