[Local Election Interview] Park Jumin: "I Will Build a Virtuous-Cycle Growth Seoul as a 'Basic Special City, Opportunity Special City'"

Democratic Party Lawmaker Park Jumin Launches Bid for Seoul Mayor
"A Mayor Must Excel at Persuasion and Mediation"
"We Must Build a Social Safety Net and Create Opportunities for Challenge"

"The idea of a 'Basic Special City, Opportunity Special City' is to build a wide safety net so that citizens can take on challenges, and thereby create opportunities."

Park Jumin, a lawmaker of the Democratic Party of Korea who has declared his bid for Seoul mayor, described his vision for the capital in an interview with The Asia Business Daily on the 11th. Known as the "street lawyer" and "lawmaker for the underdogs," he presented a blueprint for a Seoul where fundamentals and opportunities form a virtuous cycle of growth.

Park said, "We must build a social safety net so that the basic lives of Seoul citizens are not thrown to the bottom. Only then can they take on challenges. Through those challenges, innovation occurs, which grows the economy, and we can then share the fruits of that growth," adding, "A Basic Special City means widely equipping the safety net, and an Opportunity Special City means creating opportunities through challenges."

Park Joomin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking to The Asia Business Daily at the National Assembly. Feb. 11, 2026 Photo by Kim Hyunmin

With a strong progressive identity, he has put particular emphasis on growth as he prepares for the mayoral race. A significant part of his pledges consists of strategies for growing Seoul's economy. One of the key proposals is the "Hangang Artificial Intelligence (AI) Model." Park said, "If you go to New York in the United States, there is what is called New York Empire AI, where the state of New York and seven universities located in New York formed a consortium to build an AI computer center," adding, "We too can have the city of Seoul and universities in Seoul establish a center to drive administrative innovation, research and education, and open it up to private startups." He added, "Once computing resources are established, startups and others will be able to conduct a wide range of experiments in Seoul." He also cited the bio industry as a future growth engine he envisions. Park explained, "While serving as chair of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, I met with chief executive officers and executives of global bio-pharmaceutical companies and saw the potential for them to establish research and development (R&D) centers in Korea and lead the industry."

Regarding concerns that he may lack administrative experience, he expressed confidence by highlighting his experience in mediation. Park said, "The passage of the Nursing Act amendment was not something that could be achieved merely by persuading lawmakers," adding, "Coordinating among nurses, doctors, physical therapists, and various medical technicians is surely more difficult than just giving orders to public officials." He continued, "The mayor's position is one of persuasion, and when conflicts arise, instead of simply ordering 'Just do it,' the mayor needs the ability to connect interests and solve problems," adding, "In that respect, I am confident."

This is effectively Park's second bid for Seoul mayor. He had prepared to run in the 2022 local elections, but as the Democratic Party’s secretary on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the time, he withdrew his candidacy to resolve the then-pressing issue of adjusting investigative powers between the prosecution and the police. Park said, "At that time, near the end of the Moon Jae-in administration, it was a situation where I had to devote all my energy to the issue of adjusting investigative powers between the prosecution and the police, so I judged that running for Seoul mayor would be too much." Since then, from the early stage of the 22nd National Assembly, he has been studying Seoul’s municipal administration through the creation of a "New Seoul Special Committee."

The following is a Q&A.

-You have been studying Seoul’s municipal administration for two years. How do you evaluate Mayor Oh Sehoon’s administration?

▲If you look at Mayor Oh’s administration, it revolves more around the mayor himself than the citizens. I see projects like the Seoul Ring, the Garden of Appreciation, and the Hangang Bus as showpiece policies aimed at his next political move rather than measures to improve the lives of Seoul citizens. I cannot recall any investments in future growth engines. The annual budget for the Yangjae AI Hub is 4.4 billion won. That means there has been no real investment. The budget related to the Hongneung Bio Hub has also been drastically cut. Although Seoul attracts many foreign tourists, there is no investment in cultural content either. This situation has continued for several years. On Line 9 of the subway, the tracks and platforms are already in place, but the number of cars has not been increased from six to eight simply because it costs money. Because the administration is fixated on producing visible short-term results, it has turned its attention to things like the Hangang Bus.

-You have presented the role of the Seoul mayor as that of a "future architect."

▲Seoul is currently aging and its population is declining. It is increasingly becoming a city where young people find it difficult to stay and therefore keep leaving. In this situation, we must respond to the huge wave of changes such as AI. Seoul has long enjoyed the status of political capital, but in three to four years, its political standing may change. In addition, new special metropolitan areas that can compete with Seoul (Daejeon-Sejong-Chungnam, Gwangju-Jeonnam, Daegu-Gyeongbuk) are emerging. Simply managing the present well will not provide a solution; we must work to bring the future into the present. We need to design new things and create systems that did not exist before, just as former President Kim Dae-jung preemptively introduced the information superhighway and local autonomy.

Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking to The Asia Business Daily at the National Assembly. 2026.2.11 Reporter Kim Hyunmin

-Your real estate policy is of interest. In what direction are you thinking?

▲I believe the president’s real estate measures are necessary for normalizing the market. As for the Seoul mayor, the city needs to accelerate private-sector housing supply while ensuring that the public sector also fulfills its role, so that sufficient volume can be supplied through a two-track approach. Mayor Oh has promoted the so-called "fast-track planning," but it is insufficient. Seoul’s permitting authority should be further decentralized among the autonomous districts and the central government to speed things up, and idle or aging public land must be utilized. There is also talk of accommodating around 20,000 housing units in Yongsan.

-You argue that the Yongsan maintenance depot site should be supplied under a public-ownership model.

▲In New York, Battery Park City was created after the state of New York reclaimed land from the Hudson River and chose to lease it rather than sell it. Under this model, leasing operators supply commercial and residential spaces, and the state of New York has earned about 4 trillion won in land lease income. Yongsan is such a prime location that even if we adopt a model similar to Battery Park City, businesses will still come in. Public ownership is necessary not only because a land-lease model allows homes to be supplied at lower prices, but also because it gives future generations the opportunity to utilize this site again roughly 40 years from now. If the land is sold to the private sector, future generations will have no decision-making authority over its use.

-Your mention of a system akin to "charter deposit sheriffs" caught attention.

▲Many young people at the beginning of their careers find it difficult and unsettling to enter into jeonse (lump-sum deposit lease) contracts. The public sector should step in and provide one-stop services for these issues. We need a system that assists with checking the landlord’s financial status, providing legal advice, and verifying the property, and I am proposing to expand such functions. Many people are unable to purchase jeonse deposit insurance, but if we allow them to join such insurance through adjustments such as acquiring operating rights or equity stakes, anxiety over jeonse will decrease and supply can increase.

-Your pledges related to care services also stand out.

▲My daughter is eight years old, and once she entered elementary school, she started finishing school early, but unless we rely on endless private academies or grandparents, there is nowhere appropriate to leave her. To address this, I came up with models such as the "Whole Neighborhood Elementary Care" program that combines school facilities with services run by autonomous districts, "Vacation Care," and "Guaranteed Parent Time Rights." This issue is not just about childcare; it can serve as a solution in an era of population decline. Even if women’s labor-force participation rises only to the level of Japan, it can offset a significant portion of the impact of population decline. We also need to recognize that care services themselves can become a sector of the economy.

-Winning the Democratic Party’s primary is the immediate priority. What is Park Jumin’s strength?

▲The amendments to the Commercial Act that are driving the rise of the stock market are bills I have been introducing since the 21st National Assembly. People used to say, "Will that ever pass?" but many such things have been achieved. I have led initiatives such as parametric reform of the National Pension Service, the establishment of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, the amendment of the Military Court Act, the introduction of a semi-mixed-member proportional representation system, and the Serious Accidents Punishment Act. I have been recognized as someone who is better than anyone else at untangling conflicting interests to improve people’s lives. I believe that this capability and experience are exactly what Seoul needs, and I plan to put them at the forefront of my campaign.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.