President Lee Jae-myung is facing criticism directed at Gangneung Mayor Kim Hong-kyu after a video was released showing him presiding over an emergency meeting in Gangneung, which is suffering from the worst drought in history. In the video, Mayor Kim fails to adequately answer President Lee's questions and is reprimanded.
On Oct. 31, a video titled "Frustrated, charismatic, sharp, the reason Lee Jae-myung got angry while inspecting the worst drought situation on site?!" was uploaded on the YouTube channel 'KTV Imagine' of KTV National Broadcasting. The video captured President Lee presiding over a drought response meeting at the Gangneung City Hall disaster safety situation room.
In this meeting, President Lee repeatedly asked Mayor Kim Hong-kyu about the expense of securing raw water, but Mayor Kim could not clearly explain how much budget was needed or what it would be used for.
President Lee, appearing somewhat agitated, said, "The existing plan must already have been budgeted, and you are asking the government to provide new support, right?" expressing frustration.
On Sept. 30, the government declared a disaster situation in Gangneung. This is the first time a disaster situation has been declared due to a natural disaster. Once a disaster situation is declared, the government can mobilize personnel, equipment, and materials, provide emergency support, call civil servants for emergency duty, and also offer financial assistance. It seems President Lee was asking what kind of support is needed, as Gangwon Province has been requesting the declaration of a disaster situation in Gangneung since Sept. 29.
Mayor Kim said, "Earlier, you said it was 100 billion won, but now it's reduced to 50 billion, fortunately," indicating that the required budget had decreased, and President Lee responded with a bemused smile.
"What is the breakdown of the 50 billion won?" President Lee asked, seemingly finding it difficult to listen to a long explanation as he squinted his eyes and asked again, "Wait a minute, what new expenses do you need?" After that, President Lee and Mayor Kim continued their discussion over the 'expense of securing raw water,' but they could not reach a conclusion.
While inspecting the Obong Reservoir site, Mayor Kim also stated, "I firmly believe it will rain in September," to which President Lee responded, "You can't rely on the sky. We cannot experiment with people's lives if it doesn't rain."
As this content was made public, a cold evaluation followed toward Mayor Kim, saying, "If it were a regular corporation, it would be the end if you respond like that to the CEO and department head." A comment criticizing him noted, "Can we trust someone who keeps changing their story, asking for 100 billion won and saying 50 billion is enough?"
Gangneung City has announced a plan to expand the water purification facility in the Yeonggok region to alleviate the drought as the Obong Reservoir recorded a historic low water level of 14.9% on Oct. 31. The amount needed for this is said to be 50 billion won, and it has been determined that securing raw water does not incur any expenses.
The Gangneung region has been planning the underground storage dam in the Yeonggok region for three years in preparation for drought but insists that it cannot be helped as rainfall is 46% lower than the average.
President Lee Jae-myung is reported to have acknowledged the seriousness of the situation immediately after the Korea-U.S. summit and scheduled an urgent visit to Gangneung, saying, "I need to see the site directly" on the morning of Sept. 30.