P.M. nominee fuels feud on Sejong City

Prime Minister nominee Chung Un-chan said it will be inefficient for the country to go forward with the controversial Sejong City development project, in a confirmation hearing yesterday.

During the hearing conducted by 13 legislators, Chung said locating government offices in two different cities would only make it difficult to hold Cabinet and ministerial-level meetings during times of emergency.

"It seems as if some are indicating that I discussed my view about the project with the presidential office beforehand, but that is completely untrue," he said. "I hinted that there might be a need for further discussion because problems involving self-sufficiency may be raised later for Sejong City."

Opposition parties have ratcheted up attacks against Chung for his remarks on the administrative city development plan, which was initiated by late President Roh Moo-hyun.

Chung also said tax cuts would only benefit the wealthy and widen the gap between the rich and the poor - Korea has one of the biggest gaps in the OECD - expressing support for President Lee Myung-bak`s centrist pragmatic approach and policies aimed at enhancing the livelihoods of ordinary people.



"It would improve the economy if tax reductions continue consistently over a longer term. But it would be of no real assistance if the cuts are temporary. This means that there won`t be many people who could take (long term) advantage of the tax cut benefits," he said.

Involving accusations that he falsified his application form on military status to enter a university in the United States, Chung responded that he made a mistake because it was his first time handling an official document all written in English after graduating from college here.

"There was a slot to put down the student`s military status due to the U.S.`s conscription system following the Vietnam War," he said. "I should have put down `inapplicable,` for it wasn`t necessary for me to serve in the U.S. Army, but I wrote down `exempted` because I was unaware."

The reason he was exempted from the Korean military was because he received the benefit for being an only son who lost his father at an early age, said Chung.

Rep. Baek Won-woo of the main opposition Democratic Party also criticized Chung, stating that he was trying to match the president`s stance on the four-river restoration project to get the prime minister`s position when he was firmly against the similar grand canal project in the past.

"Most of the citizens can`t make a differentiation between the two projects. For Chung to support the four-river restoration project only shows that he is changing his words."

In response, the prime minister nominee said that the conservatives call him liberal while progressive groups out a conservative label on him.

"I haven`t changed, but I`m often attacked because the world surrounding us has transformed. No matter what the circumstances are, I`m neutral," he said.

DP lawmakers, including Rep. Kim Jong-yull, also raised suspicions that he did not include some of the money he earned while working as an advisor at an online bookstore and lecturing overseas in his past income tax statement.

"I did have a certain amount of income from the seminar lectures that I gave abroad but I didn`t think I needed to pay tax for that in Korea because I had already paid" taxes in the respective counties, Chung said. "I revised my income tax report and paid additional tax adding up to 10 million won this morning."

Chung, 61, who had been a professor at Seoul National University for more than three decades, served as its president from 2002-2006. He has been an outspoken critic of President Lee Myung-bak`s economic policies in the past. His confirmation hearing will continue through today.

(sharon@heraldm.com)



By Cho Ji-hyun