Kim Young-jong, Mayor of Jongno-gu, Submits Resignation Letter to Jongno District Council on 29th to Run in Jongno By-election Held Alongside Next Year's Presidential Election
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] Kim Young-jong, mayor of Jongno District, submitted his resignation letter to the Jongno District Council on the 29th to run in the Jongno National Assembly by-election, which will be held together with the presidential election on March 9 next year.
Mayor Kim is required to resign by November 9 to run for an elected office as a public official, and according to election law regulations that require submitting the resignation letter to the district council at least 10 days prior, he is known to have submitted the resignation letter to the Jongno District Council on this day.
This fact was confirmed by the reporter during a late afternoon phone call with Deputy Mayor Kang Pil-young on the 29th.
Kim Young-jong’s resignation comes as Lee Nak-yeon, the Democratic Party presidential primary candidate, used the card of resigning from his National Assembly seat in the final stage of the primary, making the 'political number one district' Jongno National Assembly election coincide with the presidential election on March 9 next year.
Accordingly, Mayor Kim appears to have made the difficult decision to resign as mayor of Jongno District.
Kim, an architect and urban planning expert, was elected as mayor of Jongno District in the 5th local election in 2010 and became the first to serve three consecutive terms as mayor through the 6th and 7th terms. He left significant urban planning achievements nationwide, such as the undergrounding of Sejong Center for the Performing Arts~KT headquarters~Jongno District Office and the urban emptying project to improve pedestrian environments.
Along with this, he solidified Jongno’s position as a cultural hub by establishing the Yun Dong-ju Literature Museum and the Park No-su Memorial Hall, and has been making every effort to build the 'Lee Kun-hee Donation Hall' on the Songhyeon-dong site.
Moreover, focusing his efforts on preserving traditional culture by protecting the most Korean elements such as hanok (traditional houses), hanbok (traditional clothing), hansik (Korean cuisine), hangeul (Korean alphabet), hanji (traditional paper), and our traditional sounds, he has greatly contributed to establishing the city identity befitting Jongno’s status as the 'cultural number one district' by hosting the Jongno Hanbok Festival since 2016.
Additionally, he completed the project to rebuild the old Jongno District Office building and brought it close to groundbreaking, becoming a living witness to the history of Jongno District.
During his tenure, he earned respect from employees by demonstrating the image of a 'top integrity mayor' who did not accept even a single pen as a gift from staff.
A former senior official A from Jongno District Office said, "Mayor Kim Young-jong has left a greater footprint on regional development than any previous mayor and has earned respect from employees by practicing integrity himself."
Since running for mayor in the 4th local election, Kim Young-jong has built a stronger political base in Jongno than any other politician through four elections, and during his tenure, he is credited with playing a significant role in former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun’s re-election as a National Assembly member from Jongno and former Lee Nak-yeon’s tenure as a National Assembly member.
In particular, after Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon ran for the 20th National Assembly in Jongno and lost to candidate Chung Sye-kyun contrary to opinion polls, he stated in an interview with a media outlet that he could not win because the Jongno mayor managed the organization so well, confirming this reputation.
Based on these achievements, it is known that the residents of Jongno are increasingly recognizing the need to elect National Assembly members from within Jongno rather than parachute candidates.
Supported by this public opinion, it is interpreted that Kim Young-jong has made the decision to run for the Jongno National Assembly seat next year.
Among the 25 district mayors of Seoul, Kim Young-jong of Jongno District and Cho Eun-hee of Seocho District are known to have submitted their resignation letters to the chairpersons of their respective councils on this day to run in next year’s National Assembly by-elections.
Accordingly, Deputy Mayor Kang Pil-young of Jongno District has taken over as acting mayor of Jongno District, and Deputy Mayor Cheon Jeong-wook of Seocho District has taken over as acting mayor of Seocho District.
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