[EDITORIALS]Governor Sohn’s a flip-flopper

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[EDITORIALS]Governor Sohn’s a flip-flopper

Gyeonggi and South Chungcheong provinces signed a “mutual regional development” agreement whose main agenda is to jointly build a cutting-edge industrial complex. It is a good thing that the two local governments decided to open up and make joint efforts for development.
But the agreement left an unpleasant taste. This is because Gyeonggi Governor Sohn Hak-kyu’s flip on his position concerning the administrative capital relocation.
After signing the agreement, Mr. Sohn said, “The governing and opposition parties should reach a progressive agreement on alternatives to the administrative capital relocation plan.”
Mr. Sohn used the term “progressive” about 10 times, and we believe that demonstrates his support for the governing party’s “administration-centered city” plan.
Mr. Sohn is the one who expressed the firmest opposition against the Roh administration’s capital relocation plan. During a monthly meeting of Gyeonggi government last February, Mr. Sohn harshly criticized the passage of the bill that would have allowed building an administrative capital in Chungcheong provinces. “I will never allow the relocation,” he said at the time.
After the Constitutional Court ruled the capital relocation plan was unconstitutional, Mr. Sohn warned Mr. Roh by saying, “A changed capital relocation plan that dodges the Constitutional Court’s ruling will be a waste of national power.”
Does Mr. Sohn think that the Roh administration’s project is not the “changed relocation plan” he mentioned? Mr. Sohn even criticized Grand National Chairwoman Park Geun-hye last October when it appeared that she was agreeing with the claim that the party should present an alternative to the relocation.
Why did Mr. Sohn change his position and start to support the administration? He should not have changed it so easily or at least have provided a rationale.
We suspect that Mr. Sohn, a presidential hopeful of the Grand National Party, changed his position to obtain future votes from the Chungcheong provinces.
How can the public confide in a politician who changes his words according to political considerations? We are concerned that we are seeing this behavior in politicians well before the 2007 presidential election.
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