Rep. Kim Eun-hye declared her candidacy for chair of the People Power Party's Gyeonggi Provincial Chapter, pledging a "grand reclamation of Gyeonggi Province."
Kim held a press conference to announce her bid at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 20th. "The period over the past 20 years during which our party declined in Gyeonggi Province coincides exactly with the period during which we struggled in national elections," she said. "If we remain confined to the Nakdong River front line, our party has no future. We must push the front line up to the Han River."
"In the June 3 local elections, when everyone was despondent, we fought a fierce battle and held the mayoral seat in Seongnam, President Lee Jae-myung's political hometown," Kim said. "We won in 12 hostile territories and key strategic points in Gyeonggi Province, including Yongin, Gwacheon, Uiwang, Hanam and Ansan."
She continued, "I will not be satisfied here," adding, "Based on the results of the last election, I will raise the curtain on a counterattack."
Kim particularly criticized the government, saying, "The current administration and ruling party are driving up housing prices in Gyeonggi Province and issuing excessive regulations with real estate policies mired in ideology." She added, "Gyeonggi Province is suffering from various regulations simply because it is part of the metropolitan area, and it is being neglected in government policy under the pretext of balanced regional development."
She also pointed out, "The Lee Jae-myung administration says it will grab companies by the collar and build a massive semiconductor cluster in the Honam region." She added, "Workers in Gyeonggi Province's semiconductor industry cannot help but feel anxious. In this situation, Democratic Party lawmakers in Gyeonggi Province remain silent."
"We must win in Gyeonggi to win nationwide. We must win in Gyeonggi to become the largest party in the National Assembly and normalize the Republic of Korea," she said. "In the 23rd general election in 2028, I will reclaim a majority of Gyeonggi Province's parliamentary seats and make our party the largest party in the National Assembly."
To this end, Kim plans to appoint non-lawmaker district committee chairs as regional senior vice chairs to oversee each of the eastern, western and southern regions of Gyeonggi Province, building a "One-Team Gyeonggi Chapter" in which the views of each party member council are reflected in the chapter's key decision-making. She also plans to strengthen communication by mandating monthly regional steering committee meetings.
In addition, she plans to expand and reorganize the youth committee as a body directly under the PPP Gyeonggi Provincial Chapter chair. "I will substantively change the decision-making system so that young people's opinions can be incorporated across the overall operation of the chapter in comprehensive social fields such as real estate, the economy, culture and science and technology," Kim added.
