▲ Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae speaks during a press conference declaring a "fiscal emergency in Gyeonggi Province" at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government complex in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, on August 5.
Gyeonggi Governor Choo Mi-ae, who ascended to become the first female head of a regional government driven by her strong reform-minded drive earning her the nickname "Choo-darc," is facing a major crisis just two and a half months into her term.
Amid unprecedented steps such as a sweeping regular personnel reshuffle freeze for high-intensity fiscal reforms, including a reduction budget scaling around 500 billion won, a controversy over a 1.2 billion won official residence has backfired into backlash from internal staff and a petition from provincial residents calling for her resignation.
On top of this, her unreserved remarks regarding prosecutorial reform—which she spearheaded during her tenure as chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee—have drawn criticism from the ruling Democratic Party's mainstream faction and the provincial assembly's Democratic Party branch. She has also found herself in a direct head-on collision with her predecessor, former Governor Kim Dong-yeon, over the issue of "fiscal responsibility," leaving her cornered on all sides.
According to Gyeonggi Province and other sources on September 15, Governor Choo raised the banner of fiscal reform in her inaugural remarks on July 1, stating, "The 9th popularly elected Gyeonggi provincial government is setting sail with a debt exceeding 7 trillion won.
With a resolve to shed bone and flesh, we will comprehensively review our fiscal structure."
On August 5, she declared a "fiscal emergency" and pushed forward with revenue structure improvement measures, including a 5% allocation of corporate local income tax to major regional governments, raising the local consumption tax rate from 25.3% to 40.0%, and converting the local education tax levied on tobacco into the firefighting local resource facility tax.
Subsequently, she submitted a supplementary budget bill to the provincial assembly containing aggressive expenditure restructuring worth 546.5 billion won, which is currently under deliberation.
However, because it is effectively a reduction budget, it has triggered ongoing backlash from artists who lost their "opportunity income" and employees of affiliated public institutions whose labor costs were left unprogrammed.
Provincial assembly members are also waging a budget war, arguing for the restoration of budgets tied to their respective interests.
Amid this atmosphere, it was revealed that Gyeonggi Province had signed a jeonse (lump-sum lease) contract for 1.22 billion won for an apartment (156 square meters) near the provincial office to provide as an official residence for Governor Choo, alongside purchasing an official vehicle worth around 77 million won, sparking accusations of hypocrisy.
The Gyeonggi chapter of the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice (CCEJ) even demanded, "Immediately withdraw the luxury official residence lease contract and recover the budget."
Eventually, on September 11, a petition urging Governor Choo's resignation was posted on the provincial government website, surpassing 30,000 signatures in five days.
When a petition gains more than 10,000 signatures, the governor is required to respond directly.
To make matters worse, she shifted the blame for the fiscal crisis onto the previous administration, drawing a fierce counterattack from former Governor Kim Dong-yeon.
Previously, during a questioning session on provincial affairs at the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly on September 2, Governor Choo directly targeted the expansionary fiscal policy of the Kim era, stating, "It is exceptional and lax management that the 8th popular administration depleted its funds and issued local bonds five times in a short period" when asked about the cause of the current provincial fiscal crisis.
In response, former Governor Kim refuted point by point via Facebook on September 15, stating, "Expansionary fiscal policy was a responsible choice to protect people's livelihoods and an investment for the future amid the triple-high crisis and tax revenue shortfalls."
Kim flatly dismissed Governor Choo's "fiscal crisis theory," noting, "Last year, Gyeonggi Province's debt ratio stood at 12.86%, which is lower than Seoul's, meaning there is no fiscal crisis."
Governor Choo's hardline remarks concerning prosecutorial reform are also drawing joint pressure from inside and outside the party.
Having led the legislation of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency Act and the Public Prosecutors' Office Act during her tenure as Judiciary Committee chair, Governor Choo has continued to frequently voice her stances on prosecutorial reform since taking office.
Ahead of the party convention to elect the Democratic Party leader, she wrote on Facebook on August 11, "Prosecutorial reform is not just a single reform. It is the banner of reform that measures whether we truly have the will and competence to properly carry out the remaining reforms," adding, "To take responsibility for reform, we must elect a worker fit for the role and empower them"—comments interpreted as an endorsement of party leader candidate Jung Chung-rae.
Subsequently, appearing on the YouTube channel Kim Ou-joon's Humble Is Hard News Factory on September 11, Governor Choo remarked, "I believe the president's approval ratings are dropping solely because of prosecutorial reform, with no other reason," and added, "If we worry about a backlash regarding prosecutorial reform—our generation's primary reform—all kinds of doubts will flood in, and that is how supporters feel."
Regarding the nomination of Kim Ji-yong as candidate for head of the Serious Crime Investigation Agency, she cited his past involvement in the investigation team for the Kim Hak-ui travel ban case, criticizing it as "the height of contradiction to place someone who made distortion after distortion into a position where good investigations are required."
In particular, at a memorial service for victims of the democratization movement held on September 12, she pointed out that candidate Kim "was in the same boat as Han Dong-hoon," and blasted, "The president must punish these [insurrectionist] forces; why are they riding on the coattails of these forces and walking on eggshells? Why are they treating the spirits of the democracy movement as things of the past?"
Regarding this, Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok appeared on Democratic Party TV on September 14 and criticized, "At a time when we need to gather our strength, is this heading toward a situation similar to the prelude where internal and external forces joined hands to try to impeach President Roh Moo-hyun when he should have been settling in?"
This was analyzed as a direct hit at Governor Choo, comparing the situation to the impeachment political crisis spearheaded by the Millennium Democratic Party (predecessor to the Democratic Party) in the early days of the Roh Moo-hyun administration.
Ahn Kwang-ryul, head of the Democratic Party group in the provincial assembly, also criticized during a press conference the same day, "Provincial residents are trembling with anxiety and worrying day by day about making a living; if there is a fiscal crisis, the governor needs to show something through action to match it," asking, "Is the Serious Crime Investigation Agency issue really that important?"
Regarding the mounting internal and external offensive against Governor Choo's moves related to fiscal and prosecutorial reforms, an official from Governor Choo's side stated, "As reductions in project budgets are inevitable to overcome the fiscal crisis, we ask for the deep understanding of provincial residents," adding, "Governor Choo does not make remarks with political calculations or maneuvers. Please view her mentions concerning prosecutorial reform and other issues as sincere expressions of her convictions."
Governor Choo is not backing down.
At the memorial service for democratization movement victims on September 12, she stated, "When I speak up, people clamor for me to just mind my job as governor. I never neglect my duties," adding, "I stand here as a conscience living through this era. And I cannot help but confess to the spirits with great remorse that I have failed to fully carry out that duty."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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