[Interview] Seobeomsoo "To Change Ulsan, Start with People... Let's Move Toward the Future Instead of Memories of an Industrial City"

Local Election Relay Interview: Seobeom-su of People Power Party Challenges Ulsan Metropolitan Mayor
Ulsan Faces Crisis of Falling Below 1 Million Population by 2030, New Leadership Needed
Job Creation through ITC and Tourism
Plans to Change Welfare and Communication Framework via 'Ulsan in My Hand' App

[Asia Economy Reporters Naju-seok and Park Jun-yi] Seo Beom-su, a member of the People Power Party who has thrown his hat in the ring for Ulsan mayor, said on the 29th of last month, "Ulsan must definitely change to develop," adding, "The biggest signal of change is changing the people."

Seo Beom-su, a member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

In an interview with Asia Economy, Seo said, "Trying to change without changing the people is nothing but a fiction," and "I have the desire to create ripples in stagnant water." Putting 'generational change' at the forefront, he commented on the six competitors in the People Power Party primary, saying, "Age is just a number, but they have been around for too long," and "Ulsan must change as well. We need to move forward with new figures and new leadership."

- You emphasize a sense of crisis regarding Ulsan. What are the pressing issues?

▲ The biggest sign of crisis is the declining population. It is said that by 2030, Ulsan's population could fall below one million. Every year, about 12,000 to 14,000 people are leaving. Among the six metropolitan cities, population inflow has increased since 2020, but only Ulsan is decreasing. The problem that must be solved first is jobs. Ulsan's three main industries have been automobiles, heavy industry, and petrochemicals, but a transition is necessary. What surprised me the most was that the countermeasure to this crisis was a campaign to change addresses. Asking people living in Seoul to change their address to Ulsan is too superficial a measure.

Seo Beom-su, member of the People Power Party./Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

- What is the solution to the crisis?

▲ I declared my candidacy for mayor at the Ulsan Industrial Tower Rotary. This is significant because the tower was built in the 1960s with the goal of the success of the Five-Year Economic Development Plan and reaching a population of 500,000. But all these goals have been achieved. So should Ulsan remain an industrial city? A rotary is designed to ease traffic in areas with low traffic volume, not in densely populated areas. Removing this rotary would speed up traffic flow by 40% and reduce accidents by 70%. We should not just dwell on the memories of being an industrial city but move toward the future. The Industrial Tower should be relocated to the Ulsan Museum, and the traffic system should be changed. Similarly, the 20s and 30s generations naturally prefer jobs in ICT or the Fourth Industrial Revolution. We must prepare accordingly.

Cultural revitalization is also necessary. Ulsan has tourism infrastructure but it is not well known. When you visit Hyundai Heavy Industries, the scale is enormous and can instill pride. Activating industrial tourism and turning the entire city of Ulsan into a gaming space combined with augmented reality like Pok?mon Go could attract tourists. The induced business effect could be around 2 trillion won.

- ‘Ulsan in My Hand,’ implementing all Ulsan administrative services via mobile phone, is a key pledge.

▲ We need to move from analog to digital, and administration must shift from supply-centered to demand-centered. Every citizen will receive an electronic citizen ID to pay taxes such as property tax and receive welfare services through it. We want to enable viewing the progress of civil complaints and welfare services. Additionally, it will serve as a channel to directly ask citizens' opinions on major Ulsan issues. We are considering giving about 100,000 won to those who create an electronic citizen ID. The concern is how to accommodate digital underprivileged groups, and we intend to pay attention to this.

Seobumsoo, a member of the People Power Party./Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

- You served as chief of staff to Representative Lee Jun-seok. Lee was embroiled in controversy over issues such as disabilities.

▲ From being close to Representative Lee, it seems his conviction is that quotas, for example regarding gender, should be fair. However, I think this issue is being overly emphasized. When such matters arise, I have said that losing is winning, but Representative Lee seems to think differently.

- There was talk of Lee's responsibility for narrowly winning the presidential election.

▲ I don't understand why responsibility is being brought up. Who worked as hard as Representative Lee in this presidential election? Although the results among Honam and young female voters did not meet targets, more votes were gained than ever before. Representative Lee worked hard despite all the criticism and won. To talk about the party leader's responsibility for a winning election is an overly depreciative view.