Working for rural SOC projects

Rep. Uhm, Yong-Soo of the Liberty Korea Party said that he will work hard to promote the interests of the people of his constituency which comprises Miryang, Euiryeong, Haman and Changnyeong. For this purpose, he said his parliamentary activities are focused on enhancing the homogeneity of community residents.

Rep. Uhm, 52, sitting on the National Assembly Strategy and Finance Committee, vowed efforts to strengthen the synergy of the agricultural sector, industrial complexes, tourism-leisure industries of the four cities and counties.

Rep. Uhm(left, foreground) Kim Jaesu grandeur(right) Miryangfruit dropdamage conditioninspection

Rep. Uhm said he will also try to multiply social overhead projects for his constituency. Efforts will also be made to draft bills which call for enhancing the welfare of his constituents. A summary of an interview with Rep. Uhm follows:

Question: What are the public pledges that you would like to implement during your current term of National Assembly?

Answer:I will work harder to promote the community spirit of our new electoral district (Miryang, Euiryeong, Haman andChangnyeong) so as tofacilitate mutual exchanges and improve the sense of kinship. Plans call formaximizing synergies of the farming sector, industrial complexes and sightseeing & leisure industries of the four cities and counties.
In provinces, SOC projects mean social welfare services. I will push for SOC projects in our electoral district, such as the expansion of national road linkingJeollabuk-do Provincewith Gaya and pavement of the national road between Miryang and Changnyeong. I am going to visit Sejong City next week to hold consultations with related government agencies. I am ready to interact with any official if doing so will help to improve the welfare of my constituencies. .

Rep. UhmYong-Soo(right, foreground) shakes hands with the officers of the Sesame Leaf Family One-mind Sports Meeting.

Moreover, I will seek to revitalize the Nano Mold Technology Commercialization Support Center, which held a groundbreaking ceremony recently, for the successes of the national nano industrial complexes. Efforts will be taken to induce state-run research institutions and leading Korean and foreign corporationsto the four cities and counties in an effort to create jobs for local youths and talented pool.
Security problems in myelectoral district will be given more attention. There is necessity to build new police boxes of the four cities and counties in replace the present oneswhich are at the risk of collapse. These decrepit police facilities,includingYugok Police Box in Yiryeong, Haman Police Box in Haman and Daehap Police Box in Changnyeong, are all in poor conditions and need imminent reinforcement. Budget fundneed to be made available to build new police facilities in replace of the existing dangerous ones.

Q: What are specific parliamentary activities which you want to implement?

A:
First and foremost, I will try hard to promote the interests of farmers. The whole rural economy, as well as the economies of the four cities and counties, faces challenges and difficulties. In my opinion, institutional realignments are in need for the sake of rural economic revival. I drafted a bill to revise the law related to the distribution of agricultural products and price stabilization. The measure, which passed through the National Assembly, calls for creating an integrated distribution system and price management for agricultural and fisheries products.
Due to overproduction or underproduction of farm products, farmers have suffered a lot of damages every year. The creation of the price statistical system will help to stabilize the prices of farm produce, while 0contributing to raising the incomes of farmers.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs is now working forcreation of integrated distribution and price systems for farm products in parallel with the new law. For this purpose, appropriate government funds must be put aside. I will visit Sejong City at an early time to hold consultations with ministry officials.Efforts are also under way to build qualityservice systems in the fields of transport, welfare, culture and medicine.

Rep. Uhm (facing the prime minister in the screen) quizzes Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn in connection with the administration of the affairs of the state.

Q: You belong to the National Assembly’s Strategy and Finance Committee. How are you, as a first-time lawmaker, prepared to implement the committee’s oversight of the government?

A:As for the National Assembly inspection of state affairs, focus have been placed on the economic hardships and relevant government policies and whether the government budgets had been used in an appropriate manner. Icarried out analyses of relevant data to find out whether the policies and budgets had been executed on the basis of laws and principles. I tried to present policy alternatives on current social &economic issues.
In the past, absolutely necessary projects have not been pushed mainly due to unbalanced budgets of local governments. I will continue to monitor whether local government budgets are executed properly and whether certain communities are denied access to public funds.
With global economic uncertainty being deepened with the inauguration of Trump Administration in the United States, there are growing concerns about an economic crisis, which is characterized by sluggish exports, weak domestic demand and staggering household debts.
Facing this grim reality, I will seek to search for practical solutions rather than political strife. To be more specific, I will concentrate on how to stabilize general prices, speed up rural economic development and promote a balanced growth of rural communities.

Rep. Uhm (sixth from left) is quizzing a leader of the Bank of Korea during the a parliamentary inspection session of the administration.

Q: You drafted a bill to revise the law regarding external auditors of joint-stock corporations. What motivated you to take the initiative?

A: Accounting frauds and insolvent audits of Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering emerged as a social issue last year. Thereafter, there have been calls for modifications of accounting systems of corporations. There has been criticism that the existing autonomous auditing system could result in insolvent audits. The drafted bill, reflecting such criticisms, calls for multiplying the “designated auditor system.”

 

Q: What are the bills that you hadalso drafted?

A:I got involved in a bill to revise the law regarding emergency medicine. Many residents in rural areas are denied medical services today as there are no medical facilities near their communities. For instance, residents of Miryangshould travelto Changwon to get emergency medicine. In this vein, the bill enables community health centers to set up emergency medical centers. Financial assistance isalso set to be forwarded to medical institutions wanting to open emergency medical centers in areas whose residents are denied such medical service.

Rep. Uhm (second from left, foreground) attends the ground-breaking ceremony of the Nammyeong Student Dormitory in Gyeongsangnam-do Province.

I also moved to draft a bill regarding on railway business. The measure would make it mandatory for the Korean National Railroad to hold consultations with chiefs of self-governing local bodies before shutting down unprofitable train stations. This move is designed to reflect opinions of community residents in drafting and executing transport policies.

Q: Could you assess your parliamentary activities?

A: I try to meet with budget-related officials of the four cities and counties regularly to collect the constituencies’ opinions on community issues. I also interact with working-level officials of related government agencies to drum up support for development of my electoral district.

My efforts have paid up. I was able to secure an additional 16.8 billion won in the funds made available for the electrical district in the course of deliberation of the 2017 government budget plan. I managed to increase 1 billion won in the local budget earmarked for creation of the Nano Mono Commercialization Support Center. Of note, an additional 15 billion won were allocated for early dedication of the Hamyang-Ulsan Expressway.

Rep. Uhm (fifth from left) poses with his spouse and mother (third and fourth from left, respectively) and children.

Some 3.6 billion won were also newly earmarked for building Sannae Police Box in Miryang in replace of the presentfacility which was set up in 1985.

Q: Could you discuss about your inter-parliamentary activities?

A:I applied for three inter-parliamentary groups, Mongolia, Uzbekistan and Myanmar, during the current 20th-term National Assembly. Mongolia, with an 800-year-long history, is a resource-rich country. The country shares national homogeneity with Korea. Myanmar has pursued reform and openness since a civilian government was formed in 2011. I believe Korea, which is aware of

Myanmar’s great growth potential, will seek to strength economic cooperation with Myanmar.

Rep. Uhm(right) interviewed by President Kim Hyung-dae of The Korea Post.

I have no idea at present which committee I will be assigned to. Decision will be reached soon. Anyway, I want to serve s a bridge to promote relations with foreign countries in the realm of parliamentary activities.

 

Biography of Rep. Uhm Yong-soo:

-Born in Sangnam, Miryang in 1965
-Graduated from Miryang High School
-Earned bachelor’s degree in business management at Yonsei University

Working Experience:

-Current member of the 20th-temr National Assembly (NA)
-Current member of the NA Strategy & Finance Committee
-Current member of NA Rural Finance & Decentralization Special Committee
-Current member of NA Steering Committee
--Current deputy floor leader of Liberty Korea Party(LKP)
-Current member of LKP’s Small Business Special Committee
-Current deputy chief of LKP’s Presidential Election Planning Task Force
-Current public accountant
-Former mayor of Miryang
-Former chairman of Junior Chamber of Commerce, Miryang
-Former deputy chief of alumni association of College of Commerce &Economics, Yonsei University

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