People Power Party Daegu mayoral candidate Choo Kyung-ho said this in a ChosunBiz interview held on the 19th at his campaign office in Beomeo-dong, Suseong District, Daegu, saying, "Recently, President Lee Jae-myung visited Gunwi and said, 'It is unfortunate that the TK new airport project is being delayed,' as if it were someone else's business, and left." Choo went on to suggest, "If the Democratic Party of Korea is sincere about building the TK new airport, let the ruling and opposition parties jointly submit the first bill when the National Assembly opens for the latter half and join forces together."
He expressed discomfort over the president's visit to Gunwi ahead of the election. Choo said, "There is criticism that the president is intervening in the election in a very technical way," adding, "It is not appropriate for the president to show this kind of move ahead of the election."
On administrative integration in TK, he emphasized, "It is essential for the region's future, synergy and balanced development." He argued, "Before the election we gathered the opinions of city and provincial residents, and the party pushed hard, but Democratic Party of Korea leader Jung Chung-rae and former Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Choo Mi-ae sank it for political reasons."
He added, "The Democratic Party of Korea scuttled integration as part of its election strategy," saying, "At a time when the People Power Party was internally unsettled, they split the Daegu–North Gyeongsang elections, and if candidate Kim Boo-kyum ran in Daegu, they thought they had a chance." The following is a Q&A with Choo.
─ In a recent poll, the gap in support with Democratic Party of Korea candidate Kim Boo-kyum narrowed significantly. How do you see the race?
"It's neck and neck. Things clearly changed before and after I was confirmed as the party's candidate. The primary process was not smooth, and as the party's division and conflict showed, citizens were quite uncomfortable. But as candidates who were being mentioned as potential independents formed a single front for a People Power Party victory, the mood changed a lot."
─ What else is driving the rebound in support?
"It seems there is great concern that, after the government and ruling party seized legislative and administrative power, they are even shaking the judiciary. People worry about the destruction of the rule of law and the trampling of constitutional order. In particular, over the special prosecutor bill to cancel the indictment against President Lee Jae-myung, there are very strong voices of anger saying, 'This is going way too far,' and 'Do you think the people are fools?' The mention of the 'national dividend program' also agitated citizens."
─ Many voices worry about Daegu's economic stagnation.
"The current difficulties in Daegu's economy are not a short-term cyclical issue. Following the information and digital revolutions and into the AI era, the economic and industrial environment is changing rapidly, but Daegu still has not achieved structural change. This is why the region's gross regional domestic product (GRDP) keeps stagnating."
─ How should this be solved?
"We need to change the game. We must completely transform Daegu's industrial structure to focus on advanced industries such as AI and robots, future mobility, semiconductors and bio. It will take considerable time, but we must go in this direction.
Existing industries that support employment in the Daegu area—machinery, metals and textiles—must also raise productivity through an AI transformation (AX). Healthcare, culture and tourism are also at a standstill. Centering on a comprehensive medical school, we must make it a city so attractive that it can be called a global tourism special zone."
─ The Democratic Party of Korea criticizes that during your time as economic deputy prime minister you pushed a tax cut policy that caused a revenue shortfall.
"That's a nonsensical argument. The government makes an economic forecast a year in advance, projects tax revenue based on it, and then draws up the next year's budget plan. Because there is volatility in the economy, taxes can be collected less or more than initially projected.
I believe there are three pillars when managing national finances. One is protecting public safety, another is protecting the vulnerable, and the other is supporting corporations to raise national productivity and competitiveness. In the end, it is corporations that create jobs and national wealth. It is the government's role to induce corporations to invest proactively. The policies I pushed as deputy prime minister encouraged corporate investment, and with a time lag that is now producing results."
─ The other camp is running on the line, "With four years left in the Lee Jae-myung administration, a Democratic Party of Korea mayor will bring in more budget funds."
"The national budget is not structured to give more to a ruling party mayor and less to an opposition party mayor. The outcome depends on how valid the project is and how persuasive the logic is.
If candidate Kim's claim is right, I want to ask whether, when serving as Minister and then as prime minister, more money bundles were handed out to Daegu. Candidate Kim has never directly handled the budget. When it comes to how to actually secure the budget and resolve pending issues, everyone acknowledges that I am the best."
─ How should the 20 trillion won promised to the integrated local government be secured?
"Through fiscal decentralization, the resources themselves should fundamentally be transferred to localities. Rather than the central government collecting and then allocating, we must design a structure that allows local governments to have fiscal capacity."
─ There is controversy over fairness regarding integration incentives.
"It can be called the administration's discretion, or even the administration's game. I want to ask whether places like Gangwon or North Jeolla, which have no local governments to integrate, will receive no support. Also, if integration is done, every local government should receive 5 trillion won a year for four years, totaling 20 trillion won; saying that if they do it a year later, they will get it for only three years is also strange.
Can national finances be allocated as if the president will give money only to those who curry favor with the president? They talk about the president's term, but when enacting the special law on integration, the incentive provisions can be codified. The logic of giving some for four years and others for only one year because the political agreement process was slightly delayed is truly an arrogant idea."