Heo Kyung-young Announces 'Unpaid' Candidacy for Seoul Mayor... "Establishment of Marriage Department"
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Heo Kyung-young, leader of the National Revolutionary Party, declared his candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election on the 20th, proposing bold pledges such as the establishment of a Marriage Department, sparking mixed reactions among netizens. While some criticize the pledges as unrealistic and unfeasible, others find them refreshing and support Heo.
In a press release on the same day, Heo presented five major pledges: ▲establishment of a Marriage Department ▲relocation of Seoul tap water 'Arisu' source to Cheongpyeong Dam ▲monthly payment of 1.5 million won from age 18 ▲abolition of property tax ▲removal of apartment sale price caps. However, he did not provide detailed explanations on how to secure funding for these pledges.
Regarding the pledge to establish a Marriage Department, Heo said, "To solve the low birthrate problem, we will abolish the Ministry of Unification and the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family and instead create a Marriage Department that will provide a monthly dating allowance of 200,000 won to unmarried individuals."
He added, "Upon marriage, we will implement a marriage public system that supports 100 million won as a marriage allowance and 200 million won in housing funds with zero interest. For childbirth, we will provide a birth allowance of 50 million won and a full-time housewife allowance of 1 million won monthly until the child turns 10, implementing a childbirth public system."
Heo also declared that he would reduce Seoul's budget by 70% and return it to the state, and pay a national dividend of 1.5 million won monthly from age 18 to eliminate wealth disparity. Notably, Heo promised to work without salary as Seoul mayor and to cover the office expenses of about 10 billion won from his personal assets without receiving any official business expenses.
Netizens are divided over his bold pledges. Some netizens evaluated Heo's pledges as "refreshing" and showed positive reactions.
One netizen commented, "The pledges sound fresh. Now, they even feel more realistic. Established politicians only hand out disaster relief funds and other money during elections and make pledges they can't keep," adding, "Since he says he will work without pay, I will support Heo Kyung-young."
Another netizen said, "It seems absurd, but rather than wasting money on low birthrate budgets, it might be better to give 100 million won upon marriage like Heo Kyung-young suggests," and added, "I want to vote for Heo Kyung-young, even if it means being fooled."
On the other hand, some criticized Heo's pledges as unrealistic. One netizen said, "It's a ridiculous policy. How will the funding be secured? Don't be fooled by misleading pledges," and added, "It's just a typical populist pledge that throws money around."
Meanwhile, Heo entered politics by registering as a candidate in the 13th presidential election in 1987. He later ran in the 1991 local elections, the 15th presidential election in 1996, and the 17th presidential election in 2007. In last year's April 15 general election, he ran as a proportional representative candidate for the National Revolutionary Dividend Party but failed to enter the National Assembly due to insufficient votes.
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