"Election is Judgment"...Why Does the Seoul A District Mayor Candidate Shine?

As 30 Years of Local Autonomy History Accumulate, Interest Grows Over How Many Seoul District Mayors Who Clashed with Staff During the June 1 Local Elections Will Return Alive

Seoul City Hall Plaza

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] “The head of an institution must create an atmosphere where employees can work happily, shield them from external pressures, and take responsibility.”

This is what a candidate for the mayor of District A in Seoul recently told a reporter.

The candidate is an elite who passed the administrative examination, with three years of experience in a local district office, work in key departments of Seoul City, the Blue House, and other government ministries.

The reason why Candidate A’s words resonate more with district office employees is interpreted as being due to the actions shown by several district mayors during the 7th local government term in Seoul.

An executive B from a Seoul district said, “I have heard that there are cases where the district mayor does not give trust to the executives,” adding, “If the district mayor does not trust the executives, how can the executives trust, follow, and work for that mayor?”

The executive lamented, “Isn’t it the intention of the mayor to try to decide everything? Honestly, the 7th local election held on June 13, 2018, was the day after the Trump-Kim Jong-un Singapore US-North Korea summit (June 12, 2018), and many people lacking experience and character were elected as Seoul district mayors. There are several districts where such mayors spent four years only causing conflicts with employees,” expressing regret.

Accordingly, it is also true that many employees hope for a district mayor like Candidate A.

Another employee C from a Seoul district said, “The district mayor holds personnel authority, so employees pretend to be unable to move in front of the mayor(?), but in their hearts, they are evaluating the mayor. I am interested in how employees’ evaluations of the mayor will be reflected in the election results this local election.”

Elections are fundamentally a judgment. A harsh evaluation. If one has worked well and communicated well with employees over the past four years, there will be good results; otherwise, there will be harsh judgment.

A team leader from a Seoul district office attracted attention with a pointed remark, “Do you think people will just give their precious vote because you bow your head during election season? The mature citizens of Seoul and the public, with over 30 years of local autonomy, will make a cold judgment with their votes.”