[Political X-File] The Lawmaker Who Threw Away the Badge... Better to Be a Chicken's Head Than a Cow's Tail

(31) Position Shift from National Assembly Member to Local Government Head
Ruling Party's Lee Seongheon, Opposition's Noh Hyunsong Change Political Course
Distinct Roles and Appeal of Local Government Heads Compared to Yeouido Politics

Editor's Note‘Political X-Files’ is a series project that delivers ‘unprecedented stories’ recorded in the election results and incidents of Korean politics.

Among classical Chinese idioms, there is a saying called Gye-gu-u-hu (鷄口牛後). It appears in the biography of Su Qin (蘇秦傳) in the Records of the Grand Historian (史記). The meaning of Gye-gu-u-hu is that being the head of a small group is better than being the tail of a large group, metaphorically comparing it to a chicken’s head and an ox’s tail.

It means that it is better to be the leader of a small group than to play a minor role in a large group. The lesson of Gye-gu-u-hu also applies to politics. The so-called decentralization (下放) in politics is exactly that. Politicians who leave the political center stage of Yeouido and move down to regions and localities. Why do they make such choices?

For Yeouido politicians, giving up their parliamentary badge is not an easy decision. However, when it is a strategic choice made with a greater political purpose, it should be distinguished from the lesson of Gye-gu-u-hu.

This refers to cases where a member of the National Assembly steps down to take positions such as mayor of Seoul, mayor of Busan, or mayor of Daegu. It is hard to say that the position of Seoul mayor is politically less significant or prestigious than that of a National Assembly member.

Then how should we view National Assembly members choosing to become district mayors in Seoul or mayors in other localities?

Considering the basic grammar of politics, this is not a common scene. The nomination authority for National Assembly candidates in a given constituency is absolute. In theory, candidates for public office are decided according to the will of party members, but in reality, who a National Assembly member supports determines the candidates for district mayor in Seoul or mayor in Gyeonggi Province.

In a reality where the candidates for district mayor or mayor are those endorsed by the National Assembly member, can National Assembly members choose decentralization (下放)? At first glance, it may seem incomprehensible, but such cases continue in line with changes in political circumstances.

Those who prefer the position of district mayor or mayor over the National Assembly badge.

Lee Seongheon, Mayor of Seodaemun-gu, Seoul.

The most recent example on the People Power Party side is Lee Seong-heon, who was elected mayor of Seodaemun District in Seoul. Politician Lee Seong-heon was one of the two leading figures who dominated the political flow in Seodaemun District. He clashed with Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, over the National Assembly seat in Seodaemun for the past 20 years.

Politician Lee Seong-heon experienced being a two-term National Assembly member during that rivalry. He is a figure with significant political influence in Seodaemun. Why did such a person give up the parliamentary badge and take on the role of Seodaemun district mayor?

Mayor Lee Seong-heon said in his inaugural speech, “Having served as a local politician for 26 years, I know better than anyone the earnest wishes of the residents for the development of Seodaemun.”

If a National Assembly member’s role is to make laws, then a district mayor’s role is to practically implement politics based on the laws and systems created. The district mayor is the head who executes policies and systems closely related to the livelihood of the people.

The role of executing the new year’s budget passed by the National Assembly is a power and attraction of local government heads different from Yeouido politics. Mayor Lee Seong-heon is continuing his term as a first-term district mayor, but there is someone who has had such experience before, and that person even served three terms as district mayor.

Noh Hyun-song, former mayor of Gangseo-gu, Seoul

The person is Noh Hyun-song, former mayor of Gangseo District. Noh Hyun-song became a member of the 17th National Assembly in 2004 as a candidate of the Uri Party for Gangseo District Eul in Seoul. He also ran for the same constituency in 2008.

Afterward, politician Noh Hyun-song challenged the position of Gangseo district mayor instead of continuing as a National Assembly member. He was elected three consecutive times with over 50% of the vote in 2008, 2012, and 2016.

From the perspective of election engineering, the difference between National Assembly elections and local government head elections is that incumbent local government heads have a relatively higher chance of re-election. Although local government heads cannot avoid competition in every election, many continue long-term based on the incumbent premium.

Unless the candidate has a special problem or chooses to challenge for a parliamentary badge, there is a possibility of continuing from first-term to second-term and third-term as a local government head. Local government heads are also sensitive to the political wind vane of Yeouido but bear less burden than incumbent National Assembly members.

Leaving Yeouido politics, which is likened to a jungle, and executing administration closely with citizens is why politicians who give up their parliamentary badges change their political course to become local government heads.