Yeongnam: Nationwide: News: Hankyoreh

[부산시장 예비후보 연속 인터뷰] ⑥ Park In-young of the Democratic Party of Korea

On April 7th, each party’s primary race to select candidates running for the Busan Mayor’s by-election is imminent. The power of the people decides the candidates for the finals on the 4th, and the Democratic Party will hold the first contest on the 6th. If more than half of the votes are not received in the first round, the top two vote for the finals a week later. Except for those who failed to pass the preliminary race or voluntarily resigned among the preliminary candidates registered with the Busan City Election Management Committee, as of the 2nd, eight preliminary candidates are running for the final. Interviews prospective candidates in turn to help voters make good judgments. The interview was conducted in writing and by phone due to the Corona 19 incident.

“To me, Roh Moo-hyun and Moon Jae-in are like ships crossing this era.” With Park In-young (43), the path that the preliminary candidates for the Busan Mayor of the Democratic Party followed the trajectory of former President Roh Moo-hyun and President Moon Jae-in. It was former President Roh who drove Park’s prospective candidate into the sea of ​​politics. As former President Roh, who ran for the 2002 Millennium Democratic Party (now the Democratic Party of Korea) presidential candidate, overcame the unfavorable position in the national race and took a turn to take the first place, Park said, “I felt attractive in politics.” Preliminary candidate Park is an early member of No Samo (a group of people who love Roh Moo-hyun). He was also a member of the planning committee of Nosamo. In 2003, President Roh also joined the Uri Party’s founding party, where he raised his flag to end the old politics. My husband also met at Nosamo. My husband served as the head of the Bongha Operation Headquarters of the Labor Department in Bonghama-eul, Gimhae-si, Gyeongsangnam-do. Preliminary candidate Park resembles former President Roh, who left Jongno in Seoul and came down to Busan, saying that he would destroy the regional structure. When I was 28 years old, I first challenged the local election in 2006, and the district I chose at that time was Geumjeong-gu, the heart of the GNP at that time. In Geumjeong-gu, Kim Jin-jae (13-16 generations) and Kim Se-yeon (18-20 generations) of parliamentarians, who were wealthy members of the parliament from generation to generation, were firmly guarding the district, making it difficult for the other party to make a candidate. Park’s preliminary candidate was elected as a proportional representative in the region in 2006, but in 2010 and 2014, he succeeded in the third election as he was consecutively elected as a regional council member. Park’s temperament as a matchmaker reminds me of former President Roh. In the June 2018 local election, he challenged Geumjeong-gu Commissioner of the Free Korean Party for re-election, which was pushed by the then National Assemblyman Kim Se-yeon. It was a bold victory in rough terrain. At that time, the Democratic Party’s Busan City Party Nomination Review Committee recommended Park to the Central Party as a single candidate for the Democratic Party’s leader, Geumjeong-gu, and a confrontation seemed to be coming to an end. However, Park’s challenge was canceled just before. The Central Party objected to the nomination process in Busan as a whole. Candidate Park did not hesitate. He declared that he would be the first to return the nomination among the candidates who were nominated singularly and challenge the Busan city councilor instead of the mayor of the district.

His choice was’a number of gods’ opening a new path. Elected as a city council, he was elected as the 8th chairman of the first half of the Busan city council in July 2018. He won 43 votes out of 47 members of the Busan city council at the plenary session. The title was given to him as the youngest chairman of the national council, the youngest chairman of the city of Busan, the first female chairman of the city of Busan, and the first chairman of the Busan city council that was not affiliated with the Free Korean Party. It was an impossible result if the head of Geumjeong-gu had not given up his greed. Preliminary candidate Park served as the spokesman for the Busan City Elections Committee for Presidential Candidate Moon Jae-in, who ran for prosecution reform, following the deceased former President Roh. He said, “I met Roh Moo-hyun and started politics, and with Moon Jae-in I learned how to make hope through politics.” Preliminary candidate Park chose to challenge again in January. He participated in the by-election of the Democratic Party’s Busan Mayor, saying, “You cannot leave Busan to the power of the people who have only deceived the citizens of Busan and ruined the Busan economy.” Will his desire to save the Democratic Party that invited the by-election and become the first female mayor in Busan will come true?

―Why do you think Busan citizens should choose Park In-young? “It is an election to save the lives of the people who have fallen into a pit due to Corona 19. The citizens of Busan are struggling every day in the Corona 19 disaster situation, and the mayoral candidates to take responsibility for the lives of the citizens are dazzling the citizens with vain promises. Park In-young, who knows Busan better than anyone, and who suffers from the pain of the current citizens, is the person who needs it right now.” ―If you are elected as the mayor of Busan, what are the three pledges you would most like to practice? “We will provide emergency measures for 10 people’s livelihood emergency disasters with a scale of 3 trillion won. It includes the establishment of a special fund for people’s livelihood disasters, implementation of emergency loans for the people’s livelihood economy, operation of a hope return package, operation of an emergency neighborhood childcare center, and support for employment insurance for small self-employed people. In addition, the Busan City Hall will be relocated to the north port to secure the power for large-scale Busan operations. If necessary, I will make a referendum. The third is fostering the world’s top 100 universities. We will designate Busan as a special university education area, promote the consolidation of national and public universities, and establish a cooperative system with private universities.” ―What is your view on Gadeokdo’s new airport? “What has plagued the provinces so far is the privileged capitalism and discrimination against the provinces. Not only did it bother the provinces, it also made Korea sick. Gadeokdo New Airport will be an important turning point to change this relationship. Despite the disturbance of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and the metropolitan area, Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam protected the new airport of Gadeok Island by themselves. The stereotype that local governments are unconditionally subordinate to the central government has begun to crack.” ―Busan City has become the representative organization of the consortium in the second stage of the redevelopment of the North Port. If it becomes the mayor of Busan, how will you redevelop the second stage? “The redevelopment of the North Port that President Roh Moo-hyun envisioned is to return the sea to the citizens so that all Busan citizens can enjoy the sea easily. It is difficult to find such a value in the current phase 1 section, and is facing criticism that it has been reduced to another money-making for capital and civil engineering. The redevelopment of the North Port should not become the second marine city. The second stage of the redevelopment of the North Port will become the center of the major renovation of Busan starting at the 2030 World Expo. At the center of it will be Busan City Hall. In addition, I will request the central government to transfer the authority to manage the port redevelopment area to the local government.” ―As the confrontation between the opposition parties in Busan is fierce, there is a saying that it is half the mayor. What are some ways to resolve divisions and conflicts? “Since the three-party political party in 1990, Busan, where the conservative party was elected for almost 30 years with just a stick, changed from the 2017 presidential elections and the 2018 local elections. In the general election in April last year, the Democratic Party won only three seats, but the vote was 44%. Now, a competitive structure has been created in which no political force can ignore the opponent. We will strengthen cooperation with political parties in the Busan region. We will also conduct regular party-government consultations with local small political parties. The city council’s in-hospital bargaining group and Busan city’s policy consultations will also be made on a regular basis.”

Park’s preliminary candidate is the lowest among the three Democratic Party contestants in several polls. “He who sows seeds in spring is right to harvest in autumn. It is right for those who sweat to be treated. The seeds that Park In-young sown for 18 years in Busan are now sprouting here and there in the spirit of spring. Park In-young’s story will soon spread like mugwort in spring in a field. You can expect good results.” Park’s preliminary candidate expects support in the vote of the rights party, where a highly recognized candidate takes up half of the total number of votes than a favorable poll. “The Democratic Party members are wise,” he said. “You know who will fight well against the power of the people like the Democratic Party.” Regarding the continuation of the Democratic Party candidates being pushed back by Park Hyung-jun, candidate Park Hyeong-jun’s people’s strength in a one-on-one virtual confrontation, he said, “The Democrats themselves took the opportunity given by the citizens of Busan. You may be thinking that you can’t. The citizens of Busan made a wise decision every time of the election.” By Busan/Kwangsoo Kim, staff reporter [email protected]