Seoul Mayor Lee Gives Financial Support to Rallies Against Capital Relocation Project

As Seoul Mayor Lee Myung-bak officially expressed his agreement regarding financial support of the rallies against the capital relocation project by the Seoul Municipal Council (SMC), the “government-inspired demonstration” between the Uri Party and the Seoul City has entered new ground.

In a meeting with reporters on Friday, Lee stated, “If there’s no problem with the council’s rallies legally, we are willing to financially support the protests by the SMC against the capital relocation project.”

Lee also stated frankly his justification of financial support, stating, “Most of the taxpayers’ money will be collected in Seoul and the metropolitan area. As the government is collecting taxpayers’ money and posting degrading advertisements such as, ‘Seoul is worse than Mexico City,’ City Hall could no longer ignore the criticism of being negligent.”

Lee showed strong disaffection towards the ruling party, stating, “The Uri Party has made a serious mistake in thinking that they could hinder the spread of the public’s opposition to the capital relocation project by suppressing the Seoul City government.”

However, Lee stated that there never will be participation of Seoul civil servants in the rallies against the capital relocation project.

Meanwhile, the opposition Grand National Party (GNP) confronted the Uri Party’s political offensive by indirectly supporting the Seoul City government by such means as organizing an “inspection team regarding coercion by opposition party leaders (led by Park Gye-dong)” and visiting City Hall to discuss the matter with Lee.

Tae-Hun Hwang beetlez@donga.com