Joeunhee: "I Will Be the 'Eye of the Typhoon' in the People Power Party Primary... Competing with Skills and Policies"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] "I believe no candidate can beat me in debates when discussing Seoul city-related issues."

Jo Eun-hee, Mayor of Seocho District, said this during an interview with Asia Economy on the 20th at her Seocho District office. "I want to break the two-strong candidate structure and create a 'three-strong' candidate structure to become the eye of the storm," she said. She will officially register as a candidate on the 21st and begin the full-scale election campaign.

Mayor Jo, a two-term district mayor with extensive administrative experience, having served as Seoul City's Women and Family Policy Officer and the first female Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs, is relatively new to politics. She believes that the only point to win against heavyweight politicians entering the primary is ultimately 'competence.' Currently, the dominant view is that the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral by-election primary is solidifying into a two-strong candidate race between former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and former lawmaker Na Kyung-won.

Mayor Jo stated, "Support is merely a shadow of name recognition. I cannot be certain whether their support will increase further," adding, "Once the final four candidates are selected and debates begin in earnest, the real competition will take place." She continued, "Whether it becomes a 2-strong and 2-weak candidate race or a competition among three strong candidates including myself is the variable in this primary," and said, "If I rise to become one of the three strong candidates, it will create variables in the primary and also spark public interest."

Her strength lies in having experienced and created various policies for Seoul, from minor to major issues. The 'Seoripul Ondumak,' now the standard for shade structures in local governments nationwide, was introduced by her in Seocho District. Also, the 'grandchild care allowance' recently proposed by Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, is based on the 'grandchild care service' that Mayor Jo developed while serving as Seoul City's Women and Family Policy Officer and is currently implemented in Seocho District.

Regarding the hot issue of real estate in the Seoul mayoral by-election, she plans to solve it through the 'U-City Plan,' linked with transportation and environment. The plan involves undergrounding the Gyeongbu Line section passing through major downtown areas and supplying 20,000 quality housing units on railway land to address the housing shortage. The 14 trillion won funding will be secured through development gains recovery from station area and surrounding area development without public funds. Mayor Jo recently responded to former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's criticism of several preliminary candidates' railway undergrounding pledges by saying, "Even mountains and rivers change in ten years, but he seems like a 'latte mayor' who only thinks about ten years ago."