서울과 경기 남부를 잇는 관문인 의왕·과천은 최근 선거 때마다 표심이 요동쳤다. 지난 21대 총선에선 더불어민주당이 승리했지만, 대통령 선거와 지방선거에서는 국민의힘이 우세했다. 15대부터 안상수 전 의원이 한나라당(국민의힘 전신) 소속으로 내리 4선을 지냈으나 19대부터 21대까진 민주당 계열 후보가 연이어 승리했다.
22대 총선에서는 더불어민주당에선 환경 전문 변호사이자 지역구 현역 의원인 이소영 후보가 재선에 도전하고 있고, 국민의힘에선 검사 출신 변호사 최기식 후보가 도전장을 내밀었다.
의왕시과천시 선거구는 2004년 선거구 획정 이래 한나라당 안상수 의원만 재선에 성공했고, 19대 송호창 민주통합당 의원, 20대 신창현 더불어민주당 의원, 21대 더불어민주당 이소영 의원으로 더불어민주당 계열의 정당이 사람을 바꿔가며 의석을 독차지해 왔다.
이를 의식한 듯 재선에 도전하는 더불어민주당 이소영 의원은 “힘 있는 재선을 만들어서 의왕과천을 이끌게 해달라”고 목소리를 높이고 있다.
이에 맞선 국민의힘 최기식 후보는 “이곳에서 18년을 살았고, 세 아이를 키웠다”며, “누구보다도 이 지역을 잘 알고 있고, 힘이 있다. 나를 지지해주면 정말 일 잘하는 일꾼이 되겠다”고 강조하고 있다.
이소영 후보는 지난 3월 5일 의왕과 과천에서 연달아 기자회견을 열어 의왕·과천 1호 총선공약으로 “의왕 미래 그린모빌리티 거점도시 조성과 정부과천청사 일대 재창조 프로젝트를 추진하겠다”고 밝혔다.
과천에서는 노후 정부과천청사 일대 재정비를 통해 행정·R&D·호텔·컨벤션·쇼핑몰이 어우러진 행정·문화 복합공간을 조성하고, 의왕에서는 남의왕과 북의왕으로 단절하는 의왕 ICD를 ‘미래 그린 모빌리티 거점도시’로 조성하겠다는 것이다. 국회 국토교통위원회 활동을 통해 2개 터미널로 나뉜 ICD를 하나로 합치는 발판을 마련한 만큼, 향후 잔여 부지에 ‘초고층 모빌리티 타워(UMT, Uiwang Mobility Tower)’를 중심으로 한 지역 랜드마크이자 글로벌 첨단 모빌리티 산업의 중심지를 만들겠다는 구상이다.
과천지역에서는 ‘정부청사’에 주목, 세종시 출범 이후 중앙부처 기관 3분의 2가 떠났고, 윤석열 정부 들어 방위사업청 등의 이전도 확정됨에 따라 기존 행정 업무공간을 효율적으로 재배치해 개발할 땅을 확보, 주변 대규모 택지개발과 철도노선 연장 개통과 맞물려 청사 부지에 R&D센터와 쇼핑몰, 컨벤션 등이 집적된 ‘행정문화 복합타운’을 짓겠다는 전략이다.
이소영 후보는 교통 관련 공약으로 △위례과천선 의왕 방향으로 연장, 위례과천선에 △문원역 신설, △주암역 주암지구 내에 정위치, △우면역(과천경계 인근) 양재 코스트코 인근으로 위치 변경, △정부과천청사역에서 본도심과 지식정보타운을 거쳐 북의왕과 남의왕, 의왕・군포・안산 3기 신도시, 반월역을 잇는 연장노선 건설, △과천에 (가칭)원문역과 (가칭)갈현초사거리역, (가칭)재경골・숲속마을역 신설 등을 발표했다.
교육 공약으로는 △의왕 내손 중・고통합 미래학교의 고등학교를 ‘자율형 공립고 2.0’으로 지정‧추진, △과천 관내 고등학교 학령인구 감소와 학급·성비 불균형 문제를 해결하기 위해 ‘미래형 적정규모 학교’ 육성 정책을 추진 등을 발표했다.
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▲ 최기식 후보(오른쪽 두 번째)가 봉사활동에 참여했다. ©
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최기식 국민의힘 후보는 2월 19일 과천시의회에서 기자회견을 열고 위례-과천선의 의왕 연장과 추가 역 신설을 1호 공약으로 발표했다.
최기식 후보는 2호공약으로 △보건복지 향상을 위한 상급종합병원 유치, 제3호 공약으로 수도권광역급행철도 GTX-C 의왕역과 3기 신도시를 연계한 광역교통개선대책안을 내놓았다. 최 후보의 광역교통개선대책에는 △의왕역 복합환승센터 구축, △수원발 KTX 의왕역 정차 실현, △국철 1호선 월암역 신설 등이 포함돼 있다.
최기식 후보는 4호 공약 ‘과천 지식정보타운 내 워터파크 건립’, 5호 공약 ‘오전동 오매기지구 도시개발 사업 지원’, 6호 공약 ‘과천 전역 송전탑 지중화 추진’, 7호 공약 ‘고천동 왕곡복합타운 의료바이오 클러스터 조성’, 8호 공약 ‘청사 유휴 부지 공원화 및 역세권 복합문화 상업시설 프로젝트 추진’, 9호 공약 ‘청계IC 수원방향 신설 및 광역버스정류장 연계’, 10호 공약 ‘무주택 과천시민 100% 우선 분양 추진’, 11호 공약 ‘의왕ICD 2터미널 이전 및 교동지역 테크노밸리 조성’을 연이어 발표하고 있다.
이소영 더불어민주당 후보와 최기식 국민의힘 후보는 타 후보에 대한 네거티브 공세 없이 앞서거니 뒷서거니 기자회견 등을 통해 총선 정책을 발표해 이번 총선을 정책대결의 장으로 활용하고 있다.
이번 총선 의왕·과천 선거구에서 가장 눈여겨볼 점은 과천의 인구 변화다. 행정안전부의 주민등록 인구통계에 따르면 지난 2월 기준 과천의 총인구는 8만1,743명이다. 21대 총선 당시인 2020년 4월에는 5만9,687명이었는데 4년 사이 2만2,000명 가까이 늘어났다. 갈현동과 문원동 일대에 들어선 지식정보타운이 인구 증가의 배경이다. 41만평 규모의 단지에는 다수의 기업은 물론 대규모 공공임대주택 등이 들어서면서 3040 세대가 대거 유입됐다. 현 정권에 대한 심판 정서가 30대와 40대에서 비교적 높은 점을 고려해 더불어민주당은 이곳의 표심을 집중 공략하고 있다.
지난 3월 11일 의왕시과천시의 ‘여론조사꽃’의 조사결과는 더불어민주당 지지율이 46.7%, 국민의힘 지지율이 37.7%로 오차범위 밖에서 더불어민주당 지지율이 앞서고 있는 것으로 나타났다.
정책경쟁을 통해 12년 만에 탈환을 노리는 여당후보와 재선을 노리는 야당 후보 과연 그 승자는 누가 될 것인가? 유권자들 표심을 자극하는 정책은 무엇이었는지 4월 10일을 지켜볼 일이다.
이소영 후보(1985년 생)
학력
덕성초등학교
서해중학교
백영고등학교
성균관대학교 법학 학사
서울대학교 대학원 법학 석사과정 수료
경력
현 국회 국토교통위원회·예산결산특별위원회·기후위기특별위원회 위원
현 2024 총선 공천제도 TF 위원
현 더불어민주당 원내대변인
현 국회 스타트업연구모임 '유니콘팜' 정회원
전 더불어민주당 비상대책위원회 비상대책위원 역임
전 더불어민주당 원내부대표, 대변인 역임
전 더불어민주당 국가경제자문회의 위원 역임
전 더불어민주당 당무위원회 당무위원
전 더불어민주당 미래전환 K-뉴딜위원회 그린뉴딜분과 위원
전 더불어민주당 탄소중립특별위원회 실행위원회 위원
전 김앤장 법률사무소 변호사
최기식 후보(1969년 생)
학력
홍제중학교
밀양고등학교
고려대학교 법과대학
강원대학교 대학원 석사
북한대학원대학교 북한학 박사)
경력
현 법무법인 산지 의왕분사무소 변호사
전 국민의힘 의왕시과천시 당협 위원장
전 서울중앙지방검찰청 검사
전 대검찰청 검찰연구관
전 주 독일 대한민국 대사관 법무협력관
전 법무부 통일법무과장
전 서울중앙지방검찰청 형사5부장검사
전 법무부 북한인권기록보존소장
전 수원지방검찰청 성남지청 차장검사
전 대구지방검찰청 제1차장검사
전 서울고등검찰청 송무부장검사
아래는 위 기사를 ‘Google 번역’으로 번역한 영문 기사의 ‘전문’이다. ‘Google 번역’은 이해도를 높이기 위해 노력하고 있다. 영문 번역에 오류가 있을 수 있음을 전제로 한다. <*The following is [the full text] of the English article translated by ‘Google Translate’ and amended. ‘Google Translate’ is working hard to improve understanding. It is assumed that there may be errors in the English translation.>
[General Election Special 5 Uiwang-si and Gwacheon-si]
Exemplary policy competition unfolds... Who proposed a better policy?
Candidate So-young Lee promotes his first pledge, ‘Creation of UMT and re-creation project of the Gwacheon Government Complex area’
Candidate Ki-sik Choi presents 11 pledges in a row, including ‘promoting 100% priority sales for Gwacheon citizens without homes’
Uiwang and Gwacheon, the gateway connecting Seoul and southern Gyeonggi Province, have seen voter sentiment fluctuate in each recent election. The Democratic Party of Korea won the 21st general election, but the People Power Party prevailed in the presidential and local elections. From the 15th to the 15th, former lawmaker Ahn Sang-soo served four terms as a member of the Grand National Party (predecessor of the People Power Party), but from the 19th to the 21st, Democratic Party candidates won successively.
In the 22nd general election, candidate Lee So-young, an environmental lawyer and active member of the local constituency, is running for re-election from the Democratic Party of Korea, and candidate Choi Ki-sik, a prosecutor-turned-lawyer, is running for re-election from the People Power Party.
In the Uiwang-Gwacheon-si constituency, since the constituency demarcation in 2004, only Grand National Party lawmaker Ahn Sang-soo has succeeded in re-election, and the 19th Democratic United Party lawmaker Song Ho-chang, the 20th Democratic Party lawmaker Shin Chang-hyun, and the 21st Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Lee So-young have all been re-elected, with political parties affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea changing people. It has monopolized seats.
As if conscious of this, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee So-young, who is running for re-election, is raising her voice, saying, “Let me lead Uiwang and Gwacheon by making a strong re-election.”
People Power Party candidate Choi Ki-sik, who opposed this, said, “I lived here for 18 years and raised three children,” and “I know this area better than anyone else and have power. “If you support me, I will become a really good worker,” he emphasizes.
Candidate So-young Lee held a series of press conferences in Uiwang and Gwacheon on March 5th and announced that, as her first general election promise in Uiwang and Gwacheon, “We will promote the creation of a future green mobility hub city in Uiwang and the re-creation project of the Gwacheon Government Complex area.”
In Gwacheon, the old Gwacheon Government Complex will be reorganized to create a complex administrative and cultural space with administration, R&D, hotels, conventions, and shopping malls, and in Uiwang, the Uiwang ICD, which will be separated into South Uiwang and North Uiwang, will be designated as a 'future green mobility hub city'. It is said that it will be created as a . As we have laid the foundation for merging the ICD, which was divided into two terminals, into one through the activities of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee of the National Assembly, the remaining site will become a regional landmark and a global high-tech mobility industry centering on the 'Uiwang Mobility Tower (UMT)' on the remaining site. The idea is to create a center of.
In the Gwacheon area, attention was paid to 'government buildings'. After the launch of Sejong City, two-thirds of central government agencies left, and the relocation of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration and others under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration was confirmed, securing land for development by efficiently rearranging existing administrative work spaces. The strategy is to build an 'administrative and cultural complex town' with an R&D center, shopping mall, and convention center on the site of the government building in conjunction with the development of surrounding large-scale residential land and the opening of an extension of the railway line.
Candidate So-young Lee's transportation-related pledges include △extension of the Wirye-Gwacheon Line toward Uiwang, △new construction of Munwon Station on the Wirye-Gwacheon Line, △location of Juam Station within the Juam district, △relocation of Umyeon Station (near the Gwacheon border) near Yangjae Costco, and △government Gwacheon. Construction of an extension line connecting Cheongsa Station through the main city center and Knowledge Information Town to King of North and South, Uiwang, Gunpo, and Ansan 3rd New Town, Banwol Station, △ (tentative name) Wonmun Station and (tentative name) Galhyeoncho Intersection Station in Gwacheon, ( Tentative name) Announced the construction of Jaegyeonggol and Forest Village Station.
Education pledges include △designating and promoting the high school of Naeson Middle and High School Integrated Future School in Uiwang as 'Autonomous Public High School 2.0', and △'future-oriented appropriate-sized school' to solve the problem of decreasing school-age population and class and gender ratio imbalance at high schools in Gwacheon. Announced promotion of development policy.
People Power Party candidate Choi Ki-sik held a press conference at the Gwacheon City Council on February 19 and announced the extension of the Uiwang section of the Wirye-Gwacheon Line and the construction of additional stations as his first pledge.
Candidate Ki-sik Choi proposed as his second pledge, △ attracting a general hospital to improve health and welfare, and as his third pledge, he presented a metropolitan transportation improvement plan linking the Seoul Metropolitan Rapid Transit GTX-C Uiwang Station with the 3rd new city. Candidate Choi's metropolitan transportation improvement measures include the construction of a complex transfer center at Uiwang Station, the realization of a KTX stop at Uiwang Station from Suwon, and the construction of a new Wolam Station on National Railway Line 1.
Candidate Choi Ki-sik's pledge No. 4 is 'Construction of a water park in Gwacheon Knowledge Information Town', pledge No. 5 is 'Support for urban development projects in Omaegi District, Ojeon-dong', pledge No. 6 is 'Promoting underground transmission towers throughout Gwacheon', and pledge No. 7 is 'Gocheon-dong Wanggok Complex Town'. Pledge No. 8 ‘Creating a medical bio cluster’, Pledge No. 8 ‘Park the idle site of the government office building and promote a multi-cultural commercial facility project near the station’, Pledge No. 9 ‘Establishment of a new Cheonggye IC in the direction of Suwon and connection to a metropolitan bus stop’, Pledge No. 10 ‘100% priority for Gwacheon citizens who do not own a home’ The 11th pledge, ‘Relocation of Uiwang ICD Terminal 2 and creation of a techno valley in the Gyodong area,’ is being announced one after another.
Lee So-young, candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea, and Choi Ki-sik, candidate for the People Power Party, are using this general election as a venue for policy confrontation by announcing their general election policies through press conferences, ahead or behind them, without making negative attacks on other candidates.
What is most noteworthy in the Uiwang-Gwacheon constituencies in this general election is the population change in Gwacheon. According to the Ministry of Public Administration and Security's resident registration statistics, the total population of Gwacheon as of February was 81,743. At the time of the 21st general election in April 2020, the number was 59,687, but the number has increased by nearly 22,000 over the past four years. The knowledge and information town built in the Galhyeon-dong and Munwon-dong areas is the background to the population increase. In the 410,000 pyeong complex, many companies as well as large-scale public rental housing were built, resulting in a large influx of people in their 30s and 40s. Considering that judgmental sentiment toward the current administration is relatively high among those in their 30s and 40s, the Democratic Party of Korea is focusing on targeting voters there.
On March 11, the survey results of Uiwang-si and Gwacheon-si's 'Public Opinion Poll Flower' showed that Candidate So-young Lee was ahead with 46.7% and Candidate Ki-sik Choi with 37.7%, which is outside the margin of error.
It remains to be seen on April 10 to see who will be the winner between the ruling party candidate, who is seeking to regain control after 12 years through policy competition, and the opposition party candidate, who is seeking re-election, and what policies will stimulate voters' support.
Candidate Soyoung Lee (born in 1985)
Education
Deokseong Elementary School
Seohae Middle School
Baekyoung High School
Bachelor of Laws, Sungkyunkwan University
Completed Master of Laws program at Seoul National University Graduate School
career
Current member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, Budget and Settlement Special Committee, and Climate Crisis Special Committee of the National Assembly
Current 2024 general election nomination system task force member
Current floor spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea
Current member of ‘Unicorn Farm’, a startup research group of the National Assembly
Former member of the Emergency Response Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea
Former deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, served as spokesperson
Former member of the National Economic Advisory Council of the Democratic Party of Korea
Former member of the Democratic Party of Korea's Party Affairs Committee
Former member of the Green New Deal Subcommittee of the Future Transition K-New Deal Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea
Former executive committee member of the Democratic Party of Korea’s Carbon Neutrality Special Committee
Former lawyer at Kim & Chang Law Office
Candidate Ki-Sik Choi (born 1969)
Education
Hongje Middle School
Miryang High School
Korea University College of Law
Master's degree from Kangwon National University Graduate School
Doctorate in North Korean Studies, University of North Korean Studies)
career
Current attorney at Sanji Uiwang branch office
Former Chairman of the People Power Party Uiwang-si and Gwacheon-si Party Council
Former prosecutor at Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office
Former prosecutor researcher at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office
Former legal affairs officer at the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Germany
Former Head of Unification Legal Division at the Ministry of Justice
Former Chief Prosecutor of Criminal Division 5, Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office
Former Director of the North Korean Human Rights Records Preservation Center at the Ministry of Justice
Former Deputy Chief Prosecutor, Seongnam Branch, Suwon District Prosecutors' Office
Former Daegu District Prosecutors' Office First Deputy Chief Prosecutor
Former Chief Prosecutor, Litigation Department, Seoul High Prosecutors' Office
