Tongyeong’s ‘300,000 won’ has come to a standstill, a tug-of-war between political subservience and people’s livelihood. > News

The core of this incident is that the 300,000 won support policy for all citizens promoted by Mayor Cheon Young-ki, who has not much left in his term, failed to pass the city council threshold. Initially, the city authorities attempted to inject emergency finances in the name of overcoming the economic downturn and revitalizing the local commercial district, but the city council's mood was cold. Even at the standing committee stage, the budget and ordinance bills were put on hold or cut in full, resulting in an unprecedented situation where the plenary session was automatically adjourned due to a lack of quorum. This is not just a lack of administrative procedures, but also suggests that even within the People Power Party, the majority party, there was a critical view of excessive financial execution at the end of the term. As a result, the support that citizens expected lost both the legal basis and the plan to raise funds, and the ball was passed on to the next municipal administration.

Behind this conflict, political interests based on the election results are intertwined. Mayor Cheon Young-ki had a plan to revitalize the local economy by executing support funds, which were his core pledges, within his term, but President-elect Kang Seok-ju, who won the election, strongly opposed this, calling it a ‘fiscal swindle.’ In a situation where the next mayor also pledged to provide cash support of a similar nature, the political calculation that the policy initiative of the next government could be undermined if the incumbent mayor executes the budget in advance came into play. All Democratic Party members and elected officials maintained the position that it was right to follow normal procedures and make transparent payments after the launch of the 9th popular election, and in the end, the city council reflected these opinions and made a decision to postpone the relevant agenda to the next session.

Administrative gaps are not limited to budget issues. Separately from this, Tongyeong City is taking various steps to revitalize the local economy, such as being selected for the fishing village base development project and launching new tourism products using Gangguan Media Port. We are also making efforts to quench cultural thirst by continuing to host special lectures by celebrities for citizens. However, the unfortunate reality that Tongyeong City faces is that these major policy achievements and people's livelihood projects are overshadowed by political controversies and do not see the light of day. Although organizations such as the Tongyeong City Council for Democracy are resolving conflicts in the local community and emphasizing harmony, the lack of communication between the entities leading the city administration is conveying fatigue to citizens.

Citizens want practical benefits and stabilization of people's livelihoods as a top priority rather than political battles. Whether it is 300,000 won or 330,000 won, what is more important than the amount of support is the timely support that citizens can feel. This agenda, which is scheduled to be discussed again at an extraordinary meeting at the end of July after completing the composition of the chairmanship in early July, will now be the first test of the 9th popularly elected election. The new administration must go beyond cleaning up the legacy of the previous administration and provide a clear blueprint for why this budget is needed and how to execute it more efficiently. Congress will also be able to resolve the confusion caused by this situation only if it goes beyond partisan logic and demonstrates itself as a mature representative body that puts the interests of citizens first.