Grand National Party Solidifies Capital Region 'Policy Alliance'

The Grand National Party is solidifying a policy alliance with Seoul, Gyeonggi Province, and Incheon as three pillars, and is preparing to do its utmost to "defend" the capital region at the party level.

In the capital region, residents of each area require inter-city and inter-provincial cooperation in public transportation such as subways and buses, as well as in environmental and traffic sectors. The Grand National Party's surface explanation is that the need for such "three-way cooperation" represents a natural flow.

However, as the Uri Party has begun operating a so-called "troika" coalition system among metropolitan government candidates in the capital region, the Grand National Party—which holds a relatively advantageous position in this region—appears to be shifting from individual candidate strategies to broader regional coordination to block the opposing party's advance.

In particular, the recent aggressive moves by Grand National Party candidates Kang Geum-sil from Seoul and Jin Dae-je from Gyeonggi Province through various debates to recover their early disadvantage are noted as factors that prompted the Grand National Party's unified capital region strategy.

The Grand National Party candidate campaigns in the three capital region areas held practical meetings with party leadership on two recent occasions to coordinate specific agenda items. Mid-week this week, candidates Oh Se-hun (Seoul), Kim Moon-soo (Gyeonggi), and Ahn Sang-soo (Incheon) plan to meet directly and announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on policy cooperation in the environmental, transportation, and construction sectors.

A party official stated on the 7th that in recent meetings they agreed on cooperation in four items: ▲relaxation of capital region regulations centered on abolishing the Capital Region Adjustment Act ▲construction of a capital region-wide transportation network ▲joint water quality improvement efforts ▲sharing of idea banks in childcare, welfare, and new town sectors. The official added, "Next week, at an appropriate time, candidates will meet to sign the MOU."

Another official also stated, "To construct a capital region-wide transportation network, we are considering establishing a concentric radial public transportation system to replace the radial transportation network centered on Seoul," and "We are considering constructing infrastructure such as two roads that respectively circle Seoul and the outskirts of Gyeonggi Province, and also reviewing the organization of a capital region-wide transportation network through expansion of inter-metropolitan public transportation routes."

They have also decided to pursue joint adoption of total pollutant load management and water usage charge systems for improving water quality in the capital region in the environmental sector, and it is reported that they are also considering joint budget compilation methods for operating water intake facilities.

Additionally, they have decided to review partial transfer of Seoul's urban functions, construction of a new type of garden city with strengthened educational, cultural, and economic functions, and support at the capital region level to revitalize the stagnant Incheon and Gyeonggi areas.

A party policy committee official stated, "We are approaching the issue with the goal of making the entire capital region a metropolis with good metabolism," and "To achieve competitiveness comparable to the Shanghai region and Tokyo region, a strategy to link and develop Seoul, Gyeonggi, and Incheon together is more necessary than anything else." <Yonhapnews>