Honam Town Hall Meeting, President Lee Jae-myung at the forefront of policy

Honam Town Hall Meeting, President Lee Jae-myung at the forefront of policies

On June 25, 2025, at the Gwangju National Asian Culture Center, President Lee Jae-myung sitting face-to-face with citizens to directly listen to and mediate heightened local conflicts was not a common sight in politics. This gathering was not merely a political event for local visits or public sentiment gathering. The unusual structure, spontaneity of the scene, and the President's direct engagement method represented a kind of political experiment as well as a reflection of actual state governance. From the observer's perspective, it felt like not just an anomaly but a direction. The town hall meeting that day was a rare political format in South Korea and simultaneously showcased how the President's policy ideas, conflict mediation abilities, and administrative structure could operate in reality. This piece aims to reconstruct the scene from the observer's viewpoint and approach it through the lens of the density of politics.

Radical form of events - a change in structure, not planning.

The town hall meeting was originally planned with 100 pre-invited participants in mind. However, President Lee Jae-myung immediately responded to unexpected situations on the spot, saying, 'I will give the microphone to the citizen who was shouting.' This was a scene demonstrating a political space as an open area rather than a controlled stage. As a result, 12 citizens spoke directly through the microphone, and more than 100 grievances were received in the form of notes. Some of the comments were not pre-coordinated, and the questions and demands were rough and sharp. However, the president did not evade or gloss over these and responded to each one, even suggesting specific ways to address them. The significance of the town hall lies not in the number of speeches but in the elimination of the structural distance between the speech and the response. As a result, this event functioned not as a 'communication event' but as a 'prelude to policy.'

Relocation of Military Airports - Politics as Mediation

The most central issue was the relocation of the Gwangju military airport, which has continued for 17 years. The sharp interests between Gwangju city and Muan county in Jeonnam have created a conflict structure that goes beyond simple local grievances. The town hall on this day also served as a space that clearly revealed the front lines of that conflict. Gwangju city proposed financial support worth 1 trillion won to Muan county, which strongly opposed it, labeling it as a 'Gwangju-biased idea.' At the moment when the conflict escalated, the president directly pressured both sides with specific and key questions such as, 'Does Gwangju have 1 trillion won?' and 'Can Muan handle the ammunition depot?' On this day, the president officially announced the formation of a six-party consultative body, or task force, involving Gwangju city, Muan county, Jeonnam province, and the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of National Defense under the leadership of the presidential office. This indicates a position that goes beyond merely acting as a mediator, signifying that the central government intends to actively design the conflict resolution structure.

Regional balanced development - Local as a strategy

President Lee Jae-myung presented the government's strategic perspective for regional balanced development at the town hall on this day. Under the recognition that the concentration in the metropolitan area is a structural problem for the country, he elaborated on the plans to transform the Honam region into a new growth hub based on artificial intelligence (AI), advanced industries, and renewable energy. In particular, he expressed his intention to see the southwestern coast as a 'treasure trove' of renewable energy and to link this with the southern industrial belt and national energy policies. This statement placed Honam not merely as an area to support, but as part of the national territorial balance strategy. This policy explanation was delivered not in a formal reporting format, but in direct language aimed at citizens. This signifies a change in the way the government explains and persuades the public. During this process, the president repeatedly asked citizens for their thoughts, raised questions, and proposed alternatives. It was a palpable experience of politics not just being about making decisions, but about designing and persuading.

Voices Absorbed by Policy - Small Yet Essential Stories

During the town hall meeting on this day, various public grievances were expressed in addition to the main issues. Requests for support from the families of the Jeju Air disaster, calls for easing financial regulations for local housing cooperatives, and opinions on the revival of the bar exam reflected concerns related to social systems rather than mere personal grievances. President Lee Jae-myung stated that he would 'immediately request the relevant department' regarding the issues faced by the families of the Jeju Air disaster victims, and expressed his position to 'review improvement directions in consultation with the financial authorities' regarding housing cooperative loan regulations. On the revival of the bar exam, he showed a cautious attitude, saying he 'personally sympathizes but that institutional discussions are necessary.' These responses not only signified sincerity but also illustrated a model of how the state system should address citizens' demands. The fact that there was a sincere listening and an explanation of follow-up procedures for matters that could not be resolved immediately demonstrated an important aspect of political accountability.

The meaning of the format called town hall – when the structure changes, the content also changes.

The core value of this town hall meeting lies in its format. The structure, where citizens participate directly without a fixed order of speaking, the president intervenes, and government departments respond simultaneously, is quite rare. This was not just a one-time campaign, but an experiment in structuring government policy with citizens' voices as the starting point. Politics often loses its essence behind formality. However, the structure of this day functioned in a way that the form constituted the essence. The president was a designer, not just an instructor, and citizens were not merely recipients but proposers. It demonstrated the possibility that the workings of politics could change.

Conclusion: The Moment When the Density of Politics Changes

Politics is often perceived as something distant. However, the town hall meeting on that day reminded us that politics is not a matter of distance but rather a matter of structure and attitude. The scene where the president went directly to the site to mediate conflicts, explain policies, and respond to public concerns was not just the actions of a single politician but a broadening of the very possibilities of politics. President Lee Jae-myung's exceptional on-site communication was not merely the realization of the slogan 'a president close to the people' but an attempt to change the density and texture of politics. On that day in Gwangju, we witnessed a moment where policies were revealed not as abstract slogans but as concrete, actionable plans. This town hall meeting was not just an event but a clue to a new political structure. It makes us rethink the fact that politics does not begin at a distance from the people, but is completed through how it is designed within the people.