Tongyeong Mayor Kang Seok-ju Announces Re-election Bid: "No Time to Practice, Ready to Work Immediately"

Kang Seok-ju, mayor of Tongyeong City, Gyeongnam, will run for re-election as the Democratic Party candidate for Tongyeong mayor in the nationwide local elections this June.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Kang Seok-ju, mayor of Tongyeong City, Gyeongnam, announced on the 2nd that he will run again as the Democratic Party candidate for Tongyeong mayor in the nationwide local elections this June.

Mayor Kang said, "More than half of the term of the 7th elected administration was devoted to responding to COVID-19," and added, "It was regrettable and heartbreaking that there was not enough time and capacity to be used for Tongyeong's leap forward and citizens' happiness."

He stated, "Despite difficult conditions, most promises made to citizens were kept, and in 2021, we received the highest grade in the nationwide basic local government pledge fulfillment and information disclosure evaluation," and claimed, "Kang Seok-ju is the first elected mayor of Tongyeong to receive such a report card."

He also said, "For the first time in Tongyeong's history, we opened the era of an 800 billion KRW budget," and explained, "The budget, which was 631 billion KRW in the first year of the term in 2018, was increased to 864.9 billion KRW in 2021 based on the final budget."

He cited major achievements such as the construction of Hansan Daechup Bridge, the expansion and opening of the four-lane urban planning road in Jungang-dong, the opening of Nam Mangsan Park's Dipirang, the reactivation of HSG Sungdong Shipbuilding (formerly Sungdong Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering), the establishment of the Fisheries Food Industry Hub Center, the attraction of the Korea National University of Arts Gifted Education Institute Tongyeong Campus, and the hosting of the 1st Tongyeong International Triennale.

Mayor Kang pledged ▲ the construction of a bridge connecting Hansan Daechup Bridge on National Road No. 5 with Dosan-myeon and Samsan-myeon in Goseong, Gyeongnam ▲ the expansion of the old Chungmu Bridge to four lanes ▲ fostering the anti-aging bioindustry using agricultural and marine products from Tongyeong Mountain ▲ the establishment of a Marina Business Center ▲ and the creation of the largest hydrogen energy industry hub in Korea.

He also promised to fundamentally solve the chronic flooding problems in the Mujeon-dong and Buksin-dong areas through road expansion and maintenance in heavily congested or unsafe sections such as the road between Buksin Intersection and Jangdae Intersection, and the maintenance of the Buksin drainage basin.

Mayor Kang emphasized, "We must set as our primary goal to wisely utilize Tongyeong's natural environment and assets to create a unique Tongyeong that no one else can imitate," and added, "We must move toward the Only One Tongyeong that exists nowhere else in the world."

He appealed for support, saying, "There is no time to practice in Tongyeong where there is much to be done," and "I am a person who has kept promises well despite difficulties over the past four years, a person who can work skillfully and promptly, and I will definitely keep the promises made to the citizens solely for the development of Tongyeong and the happiness of its citizens."