Rising as a Leading Presidential Candidate, Mayor Oh, Kim Seon-soon Head of Women and Family Office, and Lee Soo-yeon Director of Garden City Bureau Receive Public Praise One After Another
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon has been making headlines in the public service community this year by repeatedly praising Seoul city officials publicly.
Known as a “leading candidate for the next presidential election,” Mayor Oh has always maintained the stance that city officials must work diligently for citizens to live conveniently.
Because of this, he was often seen as a mayor who encouraged rather than praised.
However, this year, as Mayor Oh’s public praise of key officials has become more frequent, interest has grown regarding the background of this trend.
The officials publicly praised by Mayor Oh are known to be Kim Seon-soon, Director of the Women and Family Office, and Lee Soo-yeon, Director of the Garden City Bureau.
On May 25, at the ‘Great Birth Support Seoul Festival’ held in the city hall multipurpose hall, Mayor Oh stood up Director Kim Seon-soon and praised her as “the most hardworking Seoul city official and an expert on low birth rates,” earning applause.
Director Kim, the first woman to pass the Seoul Administrative Examination (36th session), is a senior official belonging to the most senior cohort, including grade 1 officials and deputy mayors of Seoul.
Trusted by Mayor Oh, she manages policies related to low birth rates, gender equality, and childcare, striving to create an environment conducive to having and raising children.
Not only did Director Kim receive such public praise, but she also earned compliments from Mayor Oh during reports from other offices and bureaus, with the mayor saying, “Do publicity like the Women and Family Office,” which has caused envy among other officials.
Alongside Director Kim, the official publicly praised by Mayor Oh is Lee Soo-yeon, Director of the Garden City Bureau. Director Lee, who passed the first local government examination, has held key positions such as Seoul’s media officer, Seoul 7017 operations manager, deputy mayor of Jungnang District, director of Seoul Grand Park, welfare planning officer, and acting director of welfare policy, demonstrating great skill and creativity.
On May 16, at the opening ceremony of the 2024 International Garden Expo held by the Han River, Mayor Oh stood up Director Lee and led applause, calling her “the director who created this event.”
Since then, Director Lee has been working with green space officials to create various events aimed at transforming Seoul into a garden city.
Mayor Oh’s “shower of praise” on key Seoul city officials this year is being evaluated as greatly helpful in boosting morale.
A Seoul city official stated, “Mayor Oh’s increasing instances of encouraging and praising officials are helping to raise morale among the staff.”
Because of this, some analysts suggest that Mayor Oh, who appears to be advancing toward the presidential election, may be accelerating his presidential campaign by encouraging internal Seoul city employees.
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