Choo Mi-ae: 'Overcoming fiscal difficulties is most urgent task'

Ruling party lawmaker: 'A right goal does not justify every method'

Opposition lawmaker: 'How can we verify governance without documents?'

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae. [Yonhap]
Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae. [Yonhap]

Gyeonggi Province Governor Choo Mi-ae faced sharp criticism from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle during her first national audit since taking office, with questions centering on the province's fiscal difficulties and cuts to public welfare spending. While Choo argued that the province's unstable revenue structure must be reformed, even ruling party lawmakers criticized her administration's handling of the budget reduction process.

Speaking at the National Assembly's audit of Gyeonggi Province at the provincial government headquarters in Suwon on Tuesday, Choo said overcoming the province's dire fiscal situation was "the most urgent task above all else." She noted that more than half of the province's roughly 16 trillion won ($12 billion) in local tax revenue depends on real estate acquisition taxes, creating structural limits on its ability to meet growing spending demands. "The money we need to spend keeps increasing, while the tax base that should support it remains unstable," she said.

Choo said the time had come to "fundamentally change this fiscal structure," adding that the province was focused on cutting unnecessary expenditures and protecting essential welfare spending directly tied to residents' lives despite difficult conditions. She said the province was also actively pursuing local tax system reforms and fiscal restructuring to build a stable revenue base beyond simply weathering the immediate fiscal crisis.

Criticism of Choo's approach to fiscal restructuring came even from within the ruling party. Lee Gwang-hee, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said he agreed on the need for fiscal consolidation but warned that "a right goal does not justify every method." He noted that Gyeonggi Province had notified local municipalities of cuts of up to 30 percent in provincial co-funding for joint projects, putting smaller, financially weaker counties such as Yeoncheon and Gapyeong at risk of having to scrap programs entirely.

Lee asked whether Choo had held sufficient consultations with mayors, county chiefs and local assemblies before announcing the cuts. Choo acknowledged that there had likely not been enough time for adequate prior consultation.

Lee pressed further, saying he had seen reports that Choo had later apologized for being "mechanical" and "top-down" in her approach. "Wasn't the order of things reversed in leading the province?" he said. He questioned why the administration had effectively declared insolvency and notified municipalities of cuts to their projects before reaching out to the National Assembly or local councils.

People Power Party lawmaker Park Sang-ung focused his criticism on Choo's refusal to submit documents requested for the audit. Park said the province had declined to provide two sets of materials — a list of budget-related directives issued since Choo took office and documents related to the governor's official residence contract — citing them as matters of exclusive local government jurisdiction. "Without even handing over the documents needed for the audit, I have no idea what we are supposed to use to verify how the province is being run," he said.


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