The thoughts of administrative scholars of’Gwanghwamun Square Construction’… “Market agency, it is not your authority”

Input 2021.04.04 06:00

“How can the market authority agent enforce a large-scale business with a budget of several tens of billions of dollars? It is beyond the authority of the agency.”

It was surveyed that most professors in public administration majors in major domestic universities had critical thoughts about the Gwanghwamun Plaza restructuring project, which is currently under construction by the mayor of Seoul City Mayor Seo Jeong-hyup. They pointed out that the role of acting authority, not the mayor elected by the hand of the citizens of Seoul, should remain within the minimum range to ensure that the city is normally maintained.

The Gwanghwamun Plaza restructuring project was a focus project conceived by the late Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon. The key is to expand the one-way 6-lane road on the west side of Gwanghwamun Square to the plaza, leaving only the road on the east side of the plaza. As a result, roads with 12 round-trip lanes will be reduced to 7 round-trip lanes (based on the driving car), and many point out that traffic congestion in the Gwanghwamun area has intensified as this construction progresses recently.

Since Mayor Park’s tenure, the Gwanghwamun Plaza restructuring project had a lot of opposition because the purpose was ambiguous and it only aggravated the inconvenience of the citizens. Considering this, Mayor Park also decided to delay the completion date, originally scheduled for May 2021, to gather public opinion and persuade the citizens.

However, after the death of Mayor Park, the situation changed 180 degrees when Seo became the head of the city. In spite of opposition from the opposition parties and civic groups, acting as a task for the full-time mayor without sufficient public debate with the citizens of Seoul, Acting Authority Seo executed a budget of more than 80 billion won before the by-election and pushed for the construction.

Chosun Biz asked 10 professors of public administration majors at major universities to see if it was appropriate to carry out the’one-way type’ project by Acting Seo Authority. The professors who responded to the interview were Hyuk-Joo Kwon, Professor Hyeon-seop Geum, Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University, Sang-in Park, Professor, Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University, Seok-Hee Park, Professor of Public Administration, Catholic University Hyung-Joon Park, Professor of Public Administration, Sungkyunkwan University, Tae-yoon Kim, Professor of Public Administration, Hanyang University, Jae-jin Yang, Professor of Public Administration, Yonsei University, and Kun Lee, Hanyang University. Department of Public Administration Professor Ha Yeon-seop, Yonsei University Department of Public Administration Professor Ha Hye-soo, Kyungpook National University Department of Public Administration professor, etc.

◇ 7 out of 10 professors in the Department of Public Administration oppose the enforcement of the project by proxy

Of the professors who responded to the interview, 70% (7) expressed their intention to “opposite” to the enforcement of the Gwanghwamun Plaza restructuring project by the mayor’s authority. For the opposite reason, 43% (three persons) answered that’the non-elected representatives who do not take political responsibility cannot decide.’

Next, 28% (2 people) answered’It is a matter to be decided by the Daum mayor’, 14% (1 person) answered’Because there is confrontation between citizens on this project’, and 14% (1) said’It is a project that requires a mid- to long-term budget’. People) followed in that order. The following is a detailed question and answer.

Taeyoon Kim Professor, Department of Public Administration, Hanyang University = You should have been self-respecting. If it was an irreversible thing to start a business in the time of Mayor Park, it would have been an excuse to conclude, but in this case, Mayor Park himself did not thoroughly clearly express his exact will in his lifetime, but that is also the citizens. It is excessive insult to be enforced by an agency that has not been elected by. Originally, it was opposed to the Gwanghwamun restructuring project itself, but it is not true in terms of democracy that the agency of authority, not the elected office, enforces the will of the unclear dead.

Sang-in Park Professor, Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University = I don’t think it’s right. In the meantime, civic groups also opposed a lot, so Mayor Park was actually at the stage of re-examination. In such a situation, there is a problem in the process of implementing the policy because it is suddenly being promoted by the agency of authority. Previously, the Gwanghwamun Plaza restructuring project was a controversial project, and it is quite unreasonable politically to promote the construction while the by-election is also approaching. If a new mayor of Seoul comes in and overturns the policy, citizens will waste huge taxes. This is the political responsibility of the agency. However, it is not legally possible to hold accountability, and since the agency does not appear in mayoral elections, it cannot be held to be held politically responsible.

Professor Lee, Department of Public Administration, Hanyang University = If the opinions of citizens are all divided and sensitive, it is better for the new mayor to be elected in the by-election to receive citizens’ opinions and renew them. It is not necessary to carry out a business just because the former mayor has planned it.

Hyun-Seop Geum Professor, Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University = Authority agency generally focuses on municipal administration. However, even if it is an agency of authority, there is no legal stipulation that’something can be done or not’. If it is an urgent business, it is possible to decide even the agency of authority. However, if more social discussions are needed or mid- to long-term budgets are needed, the agency of authority does not make a decision. The project is controversial and requires a very large budget, so if the project is likely to be reviewed in the future, it should be approached in a way that eliminates the controversy rather than the agency of authority.

Hyung-Joon Park Professor, Department of Public Administration, Sungkyunkwan University = It seems that it is not justifiable for an agency that has not been elected through an election to carry out a project that requires a large budget. Through the mayoral election, the will of the citizens will be gathered again, but it is not desirable that the agency of authority pushes forward.

Jaejin Yang, Professor of Public Administration, Yonsei University = I think the important thing is to refrain from the authority we have so that the new market can do it. Even if it was an incumbent mayor rather than acting as an authority, it would not be right to pursue a big business at the end of the term. Even if you have authority, you should refrain from doing so.

Yeon-seop Ha, Professor, Department of Public Administration, Yonsei University = In terms of formal logic, it is difficult to make a problem. Although the mayor is not elected, it is legally acting on behalf of the mayor until the by-election is over, and there is no way to limit the decisions he has made. In a way, acting as an agency should not be more or less than a sincere manager. It should be the level of managing a crisis situation without a market.

◇ No problem if it is a project promoted by the former mayor

On the other hand, some professors expressed their opinion that there is no problem with the promotion of the Gwanghwamun Square restructuring project by the mayor of Seoul’s authority. Twenty percent (2) of 10 professors in the Department of Public Administration said they agreed to the implementation of the project by Acting Power.

Park Seok-hee, Professor of Public Administration, Catholic University = There is no problem because it is not a situation in which this project is newly decided and executed by the Mayor of Seoul’s authority, but a policy that the elected Mayor Park has already decided. On the contrary, if the decision of the former mayor is not carried out and the agency of authority is stopped at will, it can be overpowered.

Hye-Soo Ha Professor, Department of Public Administration, Kyungpook National University = It is not right for the agency to open up a new business. However, Mayor Park has previously pursued, and if it is done in a continuum, I believe that the agency of authority can do it.

There were professors who showed neutral views apart from the opinions of favor and opposition. This is because it is difficult to determine the validity of the agency’s execution of the project.

Hyuk-Joo Kwon Professor, Graduate School of Public Administration, Seoul National University = In terms of political aspects and various considerations, it may be possible to judge this or that, but it is difficult to say which one is right or wrong in the administrative aspect. I think the issue of judging whether it is right or wrong for the agency to make such a difficult decision and start a new job is not from public administration, but from a political point of view. From my point of view, I cannot say that it is difficult to exercise any authority even from an administrative point of view. It is not illegal as the agency of authority is performed within the scope of the authority.

◇ The scope of exercise of the authority of the agency must be limited to the minimum to maintain the status quo

Of the 10 public administration professors interviewed, 80% (8) answered that in the absence of the market, the authority of the agency can only be exercised to a minimum to maintain the status quo. Legally, the scope of authority for acting authority is not limited, but the exercise of authority should be limited only to the minimum management level to maintain the status quo due to the nature of’acting for non-elected positions’.

Professor Lee, Department of Public Administration, Hanyang University = Currently, there is no specific scope of authority for the agency. However, it should be limited to only managing what has happened in the agency of authority. It shouldn’t be an important decision. There was also a problem when acting for Hwang Gyo-an’s authority, but there was a part where he tried to decide on a certain matter without force, so he faced a lot of criticism. During the period of acting as a mandate, only the minimum rights must be exercised so that there is no gap in the administration. The pros and cons prevail should be brought to the next by a new mayor through an agreement process.

Yeon-seop Ha, Professor, Department of Public Administration, Yonsei University = In fact, the agency can do whatever he wants. This is because there are no legal restrictions. School professors also act on their behalf when they retire, but most of them are at the level of managing the situation, but they do not actively judge any issues. It is necessary not at the legal and institutional level, but to refrain from acting as an authority on its own.

As an alternative to operating a desirable administrative system in the event of a market outrage, 40% (4 persons) were the most frequent opinions that the scope of authority of the agency market should be clearly set through laws or ordinances.

Hyung-Joon Park Professor, Department of Public Administration, Sungkyunkwan University = Local councils have to check if the agency of authority is invoking the authority beyond the status quo function, but such a function is not functioning properly at the moment. Originally, local councils had the power to put a brake on the decisions of local government heads, but I think it was difficult in a situation where the ruling party was majority. In order not to repeat the same thing, the scope of the authority of the agency must be clearly defined by law.

Hye-Soo Ha Professor, Department of Public Administration, Kyungpook National University = It is conventionally recognized that the exercise of authority by acting authority should only be limited to the function of maintaining the status quo. I think it’s a good idea to nail this opportunity because the specific authority of the agency has never been embodied in laws or ordinances.

Jaejin Yang, Professor of Public Administration, Yonsei University =The authority of the agency cannot be regulated in detail by law. This can make it difficult to deal with urgent or essential issues. A culture that knows how to restrain itself should be established, rather than unconditionally exercising authority. Don’t make decisions that you are not politically responsible for. It is an urgent need to establish a high-level political culture in which that is common.