Gyeonggi Governor Candidates Clash Over Real Estate, Transport, Semiconductors in First Debate
The three main candidates for the Democratic Party of Korea's Gyeonggi Governor nomination engaged in a fierce exchange over key Gyeonggi Province issues including real estate, transportation, and semiconductors at their first joint debate. At the joint debate held on the 30th at MBC's Sangam studio, candidates Choo Mi-ae, Kim Dong-yeon, and Han Jun-ho exchanged criticisms regarding their own pledges and their opponents' policies. The debate was structured with a focus on candidate Choo Mi-ae during the first 'initiative' segment and on candidate Kim Dong-yeon during the second free-topic segment.
Han Jun-ho questioned Choo Mi-ae about the 'placement of self-sufficiency land' and 'business attraction plans' in Hanam Gyosan New Town, Choo's constituency, to which Choo responded. Subsequently, Choo criticized Kim Dong-yeon's '800,000-unit housing supply policy' as piggybacking on central government initiatives, and Han questioned the possibility of existing routes being scrapped for his 'GTX-Ring' pledge.
In the second free-topic debate, Kim Dong-yeon became the primary target of attacks. Choo Mi-ae criticized Kim's 800,000-unit housing supply policy and brought up the issue of the Goyang K-Culture Valley project's cancellation. Han Jun-ho also raised suspicions of 'premeditated appointments' related to the selection of the Gyeonggi Province Corporation CEO and questioned Kim's stance on past statements regarding basic income policies.
Kim Dong-yeon countered Choo Mi-ae's question about resolving the '16GW power problem' for the Yongin Semiconductor Cluster by arguing that Choo's 'Honam KTX undergrounding method' was unrealistic. He also pointed out issues such as the management authority for his 'AI bus stop' concept. Regarding Han Jun-ho, Kim proposed cooperation on attracting investment while evaluating Han's pledge to 'create ten Pangyos,' but defended his basic income policy, stating it has been upheld and expanded, against Han's attacks.
Choo Mi-ae criticized Kim Dong-yeon over the Goyang K-Culture Valley development project, accusing him of unilaterally scrapping the initiative. Kim Dong-yeon retorted that the project's cancellation was unavoidable due to substantial penalty issues just before the renewal of agreements with existing contractors.