Gangdong District Mayor Who Has Supported the Democratic Party for 14 Years... Post-Presidential Election 'Shifting Landscape' [6·1 Local Election Battleground①]

Seoul Gangdong-gu Mayor Race: Minjoo's Yang Jun-wook, People Power's Lee Soo-hee
Three-Way Contest Including Incumbent Lee Jung-hoon
Yang Jun-wook and Lee Jung-hoon Unification Variable

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] As candidate registration for the June 1 nationwide simultaneous local elections concluded on the 13th, the outlines of major battlegrounds are emerging. In particular, in metropolitan local governments such as Seoul and Gyeonggi, the clashes for basic local government heads are also drawing attention.

Yang Jun-wook, Democratic Party of Korea Candidate for Gangdong District Mayor (Source: Candidate's Official Blog)

First, the area attracting attention is the Seoul Gangdong-gu basic local government head election. Since the 4th term of direct elections, candidates affiliated with the Democratic Party of Korea have consistently won, but the election landscape is shaking up due to the expansion of support for the People Power Party following last year's Seoul mayoral by-election and this year's presidential election.

Additionally, Lee Jeong-hoon, the current Gangdong-gu mayor from the Democratic Party, is running as an independent, raising the possibility of vote splitting in the opposition camp.

According to the Central Election Commission on the 13th, candidates for Gangdong-gu mayor include Yang Jun-wook of the Democratic Party (former chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council), Lee Soo-hee of the People Power Party (former head of the Gangdong-gap division of the People Power Party), and Lee Jeong-hoon, an independent candidate (current Gangdong-gu mayor). Former mayor Kim Chung-hwan, who had registered as a preliminary candidate, is rumored to possibly run but has not yet registered as a candidate.

Gangdong-gu had candidates from the People Power Party-affiliated parties winning consecutively from the 2nd to 4th terms, but since the 2008 by-election when former mayor Lee Hae-sik (currently a member of the National Assembly) was elected, candidates affiliated with the Democratic Party have won continuously.

Gangdong-gu was considered a stronghold of the Democratic Party even in Seoul Gangnam, which has a strong conservative color. However, in the recent presidential election and last year's Seoul mayoral by-election, the choice of Gangdong-gu residents was the People Power Party candidates: President Yoon Seok-youl (51.7%) and Mayor Oh Se-hoon (59.2%). Considering that Mayor Lee Jeong-hoon was elected in the 2018 local elections with 62.7% of the vote, the atmosphere has changed 180 degrees.

In political circles, with the People Power Party showing strength in the presidential election, Lee Soo-hee is expected to have the advantage. However, the possibility of unification between Yang Jun-wook and Lee Jeong-hoon is considered a variable.

An official from the opposition camp said, "Although the election campaign has not yet fully started, the possibility of unification is not excluded."

In an interview with this paper, candidate Yang Jun-wook said, "During my time as chairperson of the Seoul Metropolitan Council in 2018, I achieved results such as confirming the extension project of Line 9, and resolved local issues like the Cheonho Intersection flattening project and securing the budget for Amsa History Park." He added, "I will prevent the installation of a 1000-ton capacity waste incineration plant and hydrogen power plants 3 and 4 in Gangdong-gu, and promote the GTX-D metropolitan railway line passing through Gangdong-gu."

Lee Soo-hee, People Power Party Candidate for Gangdong District Mayor (Source: Candidate's Official Blog)

Candidate Lee Soo-hee stated, "I will put an end to the Democratic Party-style local politics that have been carried out for the past 14 years," criticizing, "Democratic Party mayors only faithfully followed the Park Won-soon code, but the social overhead capital (SOC) projects that residents actually wanted were insufficient, and development did not take place." He proposed key pledges such as extending after-school care hours for lower-grade elementary students, early completion of Amsa History Park, and beautification around large apartment complexes.