ID :
105501
Tue, 02/09/2010 - 12:14
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/105501
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Lee says politics should not affect regional development
SEOUL, Feb. 9 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak, hard-pressed to win public support for his "Sejong City" project, said Tuesday that regional development should not be viewed from a political perspective.
Lee's controversial push to alter his predecessor's plan to create an
administrative town, named Sejong City, in the central province of Chungcheong
has become a hot-button political issue.
The government announced its decision last month to turn the city into a
"business, science, and education" hub. The alternative plan, subject to the
National Assembly's approval, is unpopular among local residents and opposition
parties. Even a host of lawmakers in the ruling Grand National Party are opposed
to it.
On his first trip to the Chungcheong region since the announcement of the revised
plan, Lee avoided direct mention of the Sejong City issue.
"I think regional development can't be achieved if everything is thought of in
terms of political calculations and judgements," he said during a photo session
while meeting with local government officials, who briefed the president on North
Chungcheong's vision for regional growth.
Lee stressed that local governments should have an economic mindset and
future-oriented policy for development.
His aides said the trip to Cheongju, some 130 kilometers south of Seoul in North
Chungcheong Province, was not directly related to the Sejong issue but was
instead aimed at discussing ways to develop the area.
"Among the issues discussed were ways to create jobs, accelerate a national
project to refurbish the Geumgang river running through the central area, develop
the Cheongju International Airport, and promote a plan to build a bio-health
science cluster in Osong (on the outskirts of Cheongju)," an official at the
presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.
The official did not, however, rule out the possibility that the president will
comment on the Sejong City issue during a luncheon meeting with the heads of
local media outlets later in the day.
On Monday, Cheong Wa Dae made clear that it has no intention to seek a national
referendum on the revision plan, saying the government will not give up efforts
to broaden public support for it.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
Lee's controversial push to alter his predecessor's plan to create an
administrative town, named Sejong City, in the central province of Chungcheong
has become a hot-button political issue.
The government announced its decision last month to turn the city into a
"business, science, and education" hub. The alternative plan, subject to the
National Assembly's approval, is unpopular among local residents and opposition
parties. Even a host of lawmakers in the ruling Grand National Party are opposed
to it.
On his first trip to the Chungcheong region since the announcement of the revised
plan, Lee avoided direct mention of the Sejong City issue.
"I think regional development can't be achieved if everything is thought of in
terms of political calculations and judgements," he said during a photo session
while meeting with local government officials, who briefed the president on North
Chungcheong's vision for regional growth.
Lee stressed that local governments should have an economic mindset and
future-oriented policy for development.
His aides said the trip to Cheongju, some 130 kilometers south of Seoul in North
Chungcheong Province, was not directly related to the Sejong issue but was
instead aimed at discussing ways to develop the area.
"Among the issues discussed were ways to create jobs, accelerate a national
project to refurbish the Geumgang river running through the central area, develop
the Cheongju International Airport, and promote a plan to build a bio-health
science cluster in Osong (on the outskirts of Cheongju)," an official at the
presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said.
The official did not, however, rule out the possibility that the president will
comment on the Sejong City issue during a luncheon meeting with the heads of
local media outlets later in the day.
On Monday, Cheong Wa Dae made clear that it has no intention to seek a national
referendum on the revision plan, saying the government will not give up efforts
to broaden public support for it.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)
