Why Did the Former Seoul City Council Speaker Fail in the Seoul District Mayor Election?

Seoul City Council Chairman Kim In-ho and Former Chairman Shin Won-chul Fail to Succeed in Democratic Party Seoul District Mayor Primary Results Announced on the Evening of the 3rd

Chairman Kim In-ho of the Seoul Metropolitan Council presiding over the plenary session

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Kim In-ho, Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, and Shin Won-chul, former Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council.

As representatives of the Seoul Metropolitan Council composed of 110 Seoul city council members, they represent the 10 million citizens of Seoul alongside Mayor Oh Se-hoon. In particular, as local politicians overseeing an annual Seoul city budget exceeding 40 trillion won, their influence is by no means insignificant compared to that of National Assembly members.

However, these two Seoul Metropolitan Council chairpersons, who carry such weight, drew attention by being eliminated in the Democratic Party’s Seoul district mayoral primaries announced on the evening of the 2nd.

Chairperson Kim In-ho came in second place in the Dongdaemun District mayoral primary, where four candidates ran, losing to Choi Dong-min, a former Blue House administrative officer, and had to hold back tears.

From the beginning, Kim’s primary challenge was never an easy journey. This was because the two local party committee heads in Dongdaemun District did not become his supporters.

In a way, Kim’s challenge was almost a ‘solo challenge’ focused solely on the Dongdaemun residents. For this reason, although Kim did not become the Dongdaemun District mayoral candidate based on his competitiveness, he is evaluated as having performed well.

Especially, Kim, born in 1967, is young and has a strong spirit of challenge, having served as Chair of the Finance and Economy Committee during his first term, Vice Chairperson in his second term, and Chairperson in his third term. He has the potential to achieve his goal through a re-challenge in four years. On the 3rd, Kim expressed his gratitude on Facebook, saying, "Although I was not elected as a candidate due to my shortcomings, I thank each and every one of you for the overwhelming love you sent."

In contrast, former Chairperson Shin Won-chul ran in the Seodaemun District mayoral primary but came in third behind former Seoul city council member Park Woon-gi (1st) and current council member Jo Sang-ho (2nd), which is seen as a blow to his reputation.

Having served as an aide to senior Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho and becoming the Chairperson of the 10th Seoul Metropolitan Council’s first half, Shin once enjoyed considerable prestige. In particular, he was highly regarded as a partner to then-mayor Park Won-soon of the same party.

However, after running in the Seodaemun District mayoral primary and losing by coming in third, his political standing is considered to have been damaged, and difficulties are expected in his future political journey.

Meanwhile, Yang Jun-wook, Chairperson of the 9th Seoul Metropolitan Council, ran as a candidate for Gangdong District mayor in the 7th term but failed, losing to the incumbent mayor Lee Jung-hoon. However, this time, he maintained some face as the sole Democratic Party candidate for Gangdong District mayor.

This shows that becoming a Seoul district mayoral candidate immediately after serving as Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council is not an easy path.

It remains to be seen whether a humble attitude of service to the local community for about the next four years will reveal new political possibilities.

A Seoul Metropolitan Council official analyzed, “When one becomes Chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council, their status rises sharply, which can lead to neglect in communication with local residents. For this reason, it seems difficult to become a Seoul district mayoral candidate immediately.”