"The coast of Incheon is splitting." Change in 31 years, what happens when you cross Yeongjong Bridge

YTN Radio (FM 94.5) [YTN News FM Wise Radio Life]

□ Broadcast date and time: January 10, 2025 (Fri)
□ Host: Announcer Park Gui-bin
□ Castor: Kim Jae-dong, Chairman of the Incheon City Council's Public Administration and Security Committee

* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information.

◆ Announcer Park Gui-bin (hereinafter referred to as Park Gui-bin): Wise Radio Life This time is with the Incheon City Council, which has become the foot of 3 million Incheon citizens and is drawing a new Incheon special era. Today, we have Chairman Kim Jae-dong of the Incheon Metropolitan City Council's Administrative Safety Committee. Welcome.

◇ Kim Jae-dong, Chairman of the Incheon City Council's Public Administration and Security Committee (hereinafter Kim Jae-dong): Yes, hello.

◆ Park Gui-bin: There's a camera in front of us. Can you say hello?

◇ Kim Jae-dong: Hello, listeners of YTN's wise radio life. I'm Kim Jae-dong, a member of Incheon Metropolitan City. After an eventful 2024 year, the new year of 2025 has already passed. I wish 3 million Incheon citizens and YTN listeners all good health and happiness this year.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Welcome. Chairman, happy new year.

◇ Kim Jae-dong: Yes, happy new year.

◆ Park Gwibin: Thank you. It's so cold today. You came out on the coldest day. How did you feel on your way here?

◇ Kim Jae-dong: Yeah, I think it's probably the coldest weather this year. But I came here with a warm heart because you invited me to appear on YTN.

◆ Park Gwibin: Yes, thank you. I asked him a little bit when the music was playing. When I talk to the lawmakers like this, they're doing so many things, so I asked them to come out often and let me know, but it's the last time they come out today and you're not going to do it anymore?

◇ Kim Jae-dong: That's not it. Anyway, if you can't, I think it's more important to work hard in the field, and there are a lot of people who know it automatically when I work rather than letting them know. That's why I told you that.

◆ Park Gwibin: He said this. I need to promote it on the show. So I asked you because you said that if you work hard, everyone will recognize you. You can come out often on the show from now on.

◇ [Kim Jae-dong] Yes, thank you.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Yes, but looking at your history, He was a former piano coordinator, did a delivery business, and even served as the head of the reconstruction association. How did you get into politics?

◇ Kim Jae-dong: Yes, I was born in a small city called Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, where I graduated from high school. At the same time, there was a piano-coordinating academy in Incheon at that time to choose the dream of a piano career after completing military service well, but when I went to an academy in Incheon, I became connected with Incheon. Then, by chance, I started a delivery service business. We've been carrying out the parcel delivery business all along, and our apartment has been rebuilt and elected as the chairman of the reconstruction association, so the reconstruction project is a very difficult project. Anyway, since we've been leading our reconstruction project by consulting with the residents well, we were encouraged to join these self-sustaining organizations in the neighborhood and started doing these and other organizations such as the chairman of the residents' autonomy committee. Then, a senior city council member recommended it to me. So I turned it down a few times because my personality didn't match well with me and I didn't have confidence. I thought that I only had to work hard on the reconstruction project, but in the end, I decided with the strong recommendation of a senior city council member, so I ran for a district council member, and I was lucky to be elected right away. Then, in 2022, he challenged as an Incheon city councilor and was elected, and he is serving as the head of the Public Administration and Security Committee.

◆ Mr. Park Gui-bin: The city councilman was elected right away. No matter what role you play, you do your best and as you said at the beginning, if you work hard, you will understand. I think you were connected like that even if I didn't tell you. It seems that you worked hard in everything, so now six months have passed since you were elected as the chairman of the 9th Incheon Metropolitan City Council in the second half of the year. Have you been very busy?

◇ [Kim Jae-dong] Yes, that's right. As the head of the Public Administration and Security Committee, he is working hard to solve various current issues facing Incheon City. Before I became a city council member, I experienced it twice and did a lot of parliamentary activities, but the position of the city council's executive committee chairman was a little busy. That's why our Administrative Safety and Security Committee is in charge of the overall planning of Incheon City and the safety of citizens such as administration, fire safety, and autonomous police, so it's a really busy place. That's why it's my political philosophy. Above all, based on communication and collaboration with our members, I'm communicating well with the lawmakers rather than my personal arbitrary judgment, and recently in December, I've deliberated and decided on big issues such as the reorganization of the Incheon city government and the next budget.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Yes, you've been so busy and you're the chairman of the Public Administration and Security Committee, so there are a lot of issues you need to watch with interest. Please briefly introduce what this part of Incheon's administrative system reform is about, and how are you proceeding?

◇ Kim Jae-dong: This reorganization of the administrative system is the first case led by local governments in line with the trend of the era of decentralization of autonomy. Yes, the administrative district is reorganized according to the realistic living area, but it is promoted for that purpose to relieve the inconvenience of residents. In other words, as cities develop and decline, these deviations between areas where population flows and areas where population decreases increase, so it contains the content of integrating and adjusting administrative districts. In order to smoothly promote the reorganization of the administrative district, it is a process to closely examine whether the organization and manpower are being relocated through accurate administrative organization diagnosis, the transfer of various tasks and assets, and the construction of the new building are going smoothly. Above all, as it is promoted for the purpose of resolving civil inconveniences, the council will also play a good role as a communication channel so that the opinions of residents can be sufficiently collected.

◆ Park Gui-bin: It seems to be a formidable task to reform the administrative system.

◇ [Kim Jae-dong] Of course. It's not easy.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Yes, you have a lot of work to do in the future and you are very busy due to the reorganization of the administrative system, but I think you have something to look forward to from a citizen's point of view.

◇ [Kim Jae-dong] That's right. Through the reorganization of the administrative system, from July 1, 2020, the current Jung-gu and Dong-gu will be changed to Jemulpo-gu and Yeongjong-gu, and after that, Seo-gu has a large population and is separated from Seo-gu and Geomdan-gu. As a result, it can be seen that the administrative district of Incheon will be expanded from the 8th district of the 2nd District to the 9th district of the 2nd District. Above all, I think it will be much easier for residents to file administrative complaints than now. For example, in the case of Yeongjong, legal administrative districts have been in Jung-gu for more than 30 years since 1989, so there was a big inconvenience of moving inland across the bridge when handling administrative civil affairs. When the administrative system reform is completed, the inconveniences will be improved as realistic administrative districts. I think it will have a great effect on residents because it can be greatly improved in accessibility and convenience.

◆ Park Gui-bin: If I pass Yeongjong Bridge on the way to Incheon Airport, will I go from Jemulpo-gu to Yeongjong-gu?

◇ [Kim Jae-dong] That's right. You have to cross the bridge and you used to go by boat.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Yes, I am with Rep. Kim Jae-dong. I'll also talk about the district. It can be said to be the representative original city center of Incheon. It's a Michuhol-gu district. In particular, Incheon is a new city and an original city. So I think there are a lot of pending issues to be resolved in the meantime.

◇ [Kim Jae-dong] Right. Since our district is also a representative original city center in Incheon, I think it's a process that is also a representative city council member in the original city center. As I said earlier, my career is also in the original city center, so I'm looking at whether there were excessive regulations on housing-related policies for ordinary people compared to other cities and provinces, and whether related ordinances or local government laws are necessary. However, in fact, there are many areas where I think the regulations I feel are excessive compared to other cities and other metropolitan areas. So, I'm making an effort to continuously raise and correct many issues while working on legislative activities. For example, there is a system called school land charges imposed on maintenance projects related to development projects. I raised a lot of questions when I was a district council member, but honestly, it was difficult because I couldn't reach it, but anyway, I started as a city council member, but there are some vague parts in laws and ordinances. According to the regulations, the city gave the ordinance to the county, so 10 districts in Incheon inconsistent with their own standards, and some districts impose levies based on their own judgment. There was a case where it was difficult to do development projects. There was a process of overcoming these problems by communicating a lot with residents and communicating with related public officials. Anyway, when I became a city council member, I solved these problems through administrative audits and corrective questions. There were many lawsuits in the past due to school land charges, and these were difficulties in Incheon Metropolitan City. I think that it has been resolved and is helping the development project a lot without legal procedures.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Yes, I think the history of being the head of the reconstruction association helped a lot in solving the current issue of the problem. You'll have a lot of memorable things during your legislative activities, and you're proposing various things, especially related to civil safety. Please introduce it.

◇ Kim Jae-dong: In the year I became a city council member anyway, there was a big accident called the Itaewon disaster in October anyway, then in August 2023, there was a crime at Seohyeon Station in Bundang, last year, an electric car fire in the underground parking lot of Cheongna apartment, and recently the Muan Airport plane crash, I think that the safety of citizens should be considered the top priority for our residents. So I think I'm more interested in areas related to the safety of citizens than other Congressmen. Based on these points, I proposed several ordinances that can ensure citizens' safety. First, don't ask. To provide the basis for supporting damage to crime prevention, the Incheon Metropolitan City Ordinance on the Prevention of Crimes in Abnormal Dong, and the establishment of an autonomous fire brigade consisting of traditional market merchants for fire prevention in traditional markets. The Incheon Metropolitan City Ordinance on the Establishment and Support of Autonomous Fire Fighting Units in Traditional Markets has been proposed and is currently being implemented on behalf of the Incheon Metropolitan City Ordinance on the Payment of Vehicle Towing to Prevent Fire Fighting Activities in the event of a fire. Above all, we are working hard on legislative activities with the mind that prevention is the top priority to secure citizens' safety.

◆ Park Gui-bin: Yes, those are the contents of the ordinance related to civil safety, and you're working really hard for civil safety right now, so you have to talk a lot with the executive. What do you think?

◇ Kim Jae-dong: Right, there are times when there are disagreements between the executive and the parliament. However, since the parliament is such a parliament that checks and monitors the executive administration, there is a process of disagreement. So I think communication or cooperation between Congress and the executive is necessary to minimize differences of opinion. First of all, it seems necessary to explain and persuade the members of the committee about the feasibility or necessity of the project in advance on the agendas presented to each standing committee. I don't think it's possible to cooperate only when enough time is provided for our lawmakers to review each agenda closely through such processes. In addition, I think that many of Incheon's policies simply benchmark the policies of other local governments and organizations, such as Seoul and Gyeonggi-do, but I think we should try to develop new and preemptive Incheon policies by considering and utilizing Incheon's regional characteristics. Above all, in order to stand tall as a global top ten city in Incheon, I think an effective policy that each citizen can feel is necessary rather than a show-style policy.

◆ Park Gui Bin: Okay. I'll give you the last question. You can fill in the blanks. Kim Jae-dong, Incheon city councilor, is something. How can you fill it in?

◇ Kim Jae-dong: I'm in charge of the fire department, and Kim Jae-dong wants to be a politician like a fire truck. I'd like to say this. I hope you will be remembered as a politician like a fire truck that always tries for Incheon like the fastest fire truck that appears at the scene of the fire and sometimes breaks through the problem boldly and recklessly.

◆ Park Gui Bin: Okay. I was Kim Jae-dong, chairman of the Incheon City Council's Public Administration and Security Committee. Thank you.

◇ [Kim Jae-dong] Thank you. Happy New Year.