Kweon Seong-dong, the Chairperson of the People Power Party's joint election countermeasures committee, noted on the 25th that remarks made by Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung regarding 'Gobi Island Wave Park' amounted to a confession that his achievements were more important than the soundness of the local economy.
Chairperson Kweon said on Facebook, "Today, Gobi Island is a vivid example showing the failure of Lee Jae-myung's hotel economics."
Candidate Lee stated in a campaign rally in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, on 24th that, regarding the attraction of Gobi Island Wave Park, "We completed everything from permits to construction in just 2 years."
Chairperson Kweon commented, "The commercial district of Gobi Island, which has only the Wave Park, has turned into a ghost market with a vacancy rate of 87%." He continued, "Since marine leisure facilities like Wave Park operate on a closed structure centered around internal facilities, there is almost no link to external commercial areas," adding, "Designing these linkages and considering a virtuous cycle for the local economy is truly the role of an administrator."
He also mentioned the so-called controversy over Lee's "hotel economics." "Candidate Lee is advocating that if you give 100,000 won to a hotel, that money circulates and creates an effect of 1 million won," he said, noting, "Although he may have pushed for reckless development under that belief during his time as governor, the reality proven at Gobi Island is the exact opposite." He added, "If such a candidate becomes president, hasty administration will spread nationwide, the residential district will become the second and third Daejang-dong, and the commercial district will become another Gobi Island."
Chairperson Kweon said, "However, the solution also lies within Gobi Island," explaining that "there are almost no vacancies in the residential area of Gobi Island because many workers commute to and from nearby Siheung Industrial Complex and Banwol Industrial Complex."
He added, "Reviving the local economy requires corporations and jobs to come in," stating that unlike Lee Jae-myung, who prides himself as the 'Gobi Island governor,' Kim Moon-soo, the 'jobs governor,' boasts achievements like attracting corporations such as the Pyeongtaek Samsung semiconductor complex and Pangyo Techno Valley."