Calls for Being “Fair and Square”

Rep. Song K.H. determined to be fair and square in his political activities and running the committee

Rep. Song Kwang-ho, chairman of the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee of the National Assembly said in a written interview with NewsWorld that he will serve the people with a low posture and expand their welfare, focusing his legislative eyes always at the eye-level of the people. His legislative activities will always be in the areas of creating a system to pay fair value for land seized by the government and the fusion of IT with land information to develop the system as a future growth engine for the 21st century, among others. But most of all, his political activities will always be aimed at wiping away the tears of poor families around the country and increasing the public welfare. The following is what he had to say in the interview:
Question: What are your plans for running the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee?
Answer: First and foremost, I have to be in a low posture to serve the people in such a way as to expand the public welfare. In order to do so, I have to see eye-to-eye with the people in terms of what they want, since they are the main beneficiaries of the policies, not the policy makers. I feel a great burden on my shoulders as the committee chairman because there are many important issues pending before the committee. I feel a little concerned whether I will be able to exercise my beliefs fully to solve problems wisely and do the job in full to make our land beautiful.
But I will try my best, falling back on my experiences, knowledge and wisdom as fully as possible for the interest of the people in running the committee with a mind to serve the people.
First, I will try my best in my legislative efforts to set up the reimbursement system based on the fair value of the properties when taking over private land for government projects so as not to impinge on the property rights of the people and make them unhappy.
My second priority is turning the policy paradigm around. In the case of the management of water, so far it has been for preservation and management. It should be directed towards preservation and utilization at the same time to boost the economic added value of water resources by changing the paradigm around.
Third, it is the reform of policies for the balanced development of land, especially concerning the feasibility studies done before drawing up projects, as the present studies give more priority to the economic effects, which leads to isolated areas being left out of the development projects around the country. It should be reformed in such a way as to promote balanced development of land in a more systematic and realistic way.
Lastly, I would like to do something in the search for new growth engines for the national economy in the 21st century, especially in the area of the fusion of IT and land information to spur the development of the space information industry. I never hear that water around the country has decayed and therefore, it is entirely false to say that the construction of water beds in the Four Rivers Restoration Project around the country would contaminate the water.











Q: What is your opinion on the softening of the capital area regulations and balanced development of local regions?
A: These two issues have conflicting points. The loosening of the capital area regulations are policy matters and, thus, basically should be considered along with balanced national development issues. What I would like to stress is balanced national development, not just the balanced development of local regions. Even as I speak, the concentration in the capital area is creating astronomical undesirable side effects in such areas as housing, traffic, the environment and others.
The capital area also has been useful in holding down those problems to some extent, but, at the same time, it is true that the capital area regulations are not enough to solve all the problems. We ought to have policies for both balanced national development and local regional development for the areas that have been lagging behind the national balance under the name of “mutual survival.”
I feel that considering the pros and cons over the capital area control and local regional development would only deepen the argument between the two regions in the country, and would not be conducive to coming up with the right policies to solve problems.
Therefore, as the committee chairman, I will steer the committee to help set up policy frames for balanced national development on the dimension of the National Assembly and support the plan fully once it is drawn up.
Q: Can you tell us about the construction of Sejong City and the relocation of the central government agencies and government-run companies to Sejong City?
A: The government fully declared the plan to relocate nine government ministries, two agencies and two offices to Sejong City, along with 36 government-run organizations between 2012 and 2014. Under this plan, some 411 government ministers and other high-level officials will move to the city in 2012, and a total of 10,452 government employees in 2014, with the number expected to swell well above that figure when those working for government-run research institutions are added. I, as chairman of the committee, will do what I can to help the relocation be completed successfully. The government and political circles have the responsibility to make the new city a great success in the future.
Such projects as those related to government buildings, bridges and roads are on time, but those related to private buildings including apartments have not been on schedule and I will make sure to check the causes of the delays from the parliamentary side to make sure that these projects are on the right track. As I say again, the Sejong City project is not a matter the Chungcheong Province and its people are responsible for, but it is a national project. The National Assembly and legislators should consider various means to make the project a success for the balanced national development.
Q: Can you, please, tell us about measures that will be effective to strengthen the control of Dokdo Island including a plan to increase the number of residents on the island?
A: To increase the number of residents on Dokdo Island is one of the realistic plans to strengthen the control of the island. But I think an effort to win international recognition through diplomatic means is a better way to strengthen our country’s control over the island. The government should take the lead in letting the world know that the island belongs to Korea by exhibiting to various international organizations the historic documents and maps from the 19th century and other times and how they have been found in detail to convince the international society that the island belonged to Korea since ancient times. To repeat what I said, it is important to let the world know that the island belonged to Korea since time immemorial.
Q: Can you please tell us about your demand to relax the regulatory control on real estate to reinvigorate the market?
A: Many construction companies have been picked for workouts or even face bankruptcies due to the sluggish construction market, which has been going on for some time, much to my regret. The government has been trying to help the industry any way it can by announcing the Aug. 29 measure and other policies. Our committee should also do many things to help the government so corporate restructuring is rapidly realized and effectively on the parliamentary side, minimizing the burden for cooperative companies.
We will hold talks with the government on searching for means for normalizing the operation of those companies on restructuring or workouts as soon as possible. If necessary, the National Assembly might take actions to consider providing additional support to prevent further deterioration of the construction companies’ operations.
But I have something that I wanted to tell the construction industry, which is that the construction industry is partly responsible for the current crisis because it built too many residential buildings, apartments mainly. I hope that the construction companies in trouble will do their best through bone-shearing efforts in restructuring and other means to overcome the crisis by becoming more competitive in a wise manner.
Q: Where is the focus of your legislative activities?
A: As I said before, my basic attitude in taking charge of legislative activities is to have a low posture before the people and serve them by expanding the public welfare. In activities involved with policies and the execution of those policies, I would like make efforts to see eye-to-eye with the people in my legislative activities. With this posture, I will focus on a number of key areas in my legislative activities including the creation of a system for reimbursing the fair value of properties that the government seizes from individuals; changing policy paradigms; revising the system for feasibility studies; making the fusion of IT with real estate a future growth engine in the 21st century; and spurring the railroad industry’s development as an environmentally friendly means of transportation.
Q: What would be some of the major areas of your future legislative activities?
A: My future legislative activities will be aimed at wisely solving various pending issues at the National Assembly and making the national land more beautiful. At the same time, I will lead the committee with a low posture as its chairman to serve the people in the direction of expanding public welfare. nw

Rep. Song Kwang-ho, chairman of the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee of the National Assembly

(from left) Rep. Song Kwang-ho, chairman of the Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, receives a briefing on the construction of the Ipo Weir in Yeoju as part of a project to restore the Han River on Sept. 19. Chairman Song Kwang-ho speaks at a ceremony to open the second phase of the Gyeongbu (Seoul-Busan) High-speed Railway and the dedication of the Osong Station on Oct. 28.