Mayor Lee Sunhee's Book Launch Draws Huge Crowd...Seoul Mayoral Candidate Joins En Masse

Easing Height Restrictions Around Bukhansan, etc.
Three and a Half Years of District Administration in One Volume

"When I felt that the height restriction that had bound us for 34 years was finally about to be lifted, I was overwhelmed with the emotion of 'We finally did it.'"

On February 21, Seoul Gangbuk District Mayor Lee Sunhee looked back on three and a half years of district administration at a book launch for her work "Gangbuk That Empowers My Life," held at Gangbuk Culture and Arts Center's Gangbuk Pine Hall, and made these remarks. The book, which contains the major and minor achievements and challenges of her first term in the 8th popularly elected administration, as well as explorations of Gangbuk's future, has drawn attention as a record personally published by a sitting district mayor while in office.

Gangbuk District Mayor Lee Sunhui is giving remarks at a book launch on the 21st. Reporter Kim Minjin.

In the book, Mayor Lee selects "12 important moments" from her term and addresses them under the theme of "Remodeling Gangbuk District." The contents include symbols of Gangbuk such as the new district office building, the easing of height restrictions, the nation's first villa management office, the new Gangbuk Line for balanced development, smart farms as the flagship industry symbolizing Gangbuk District as a nature city, the reorganization of the riverside vitality hub at Jaeganjeong, the nation's first mobile health bus, a city of highly attractive festivals, a hanok village and Han River cultural center, healing forest trails in the Bukhansan forest rest area and the temple forest of Hwagyesa, the Northern Seoul Sports Center, and an astronomical observatory and ecological experience center.

The book also details the district mayor's daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly schedules, and records how she worked, both in method and in mindset. The first part briefly covers her upbringing and the journey to becoming a politician.

Regarding the writing process, Mayor Lee explained, "I decided to publish the book because I felt this was the only way to fully convey to residents what has happened over the past three years and six months."

In the book, Mayor Lee mentions the late former President Roh Moo-hyun and the late former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan as her political teachers and mentors. She expressed regret that former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan, who had even scheduled to attend the book launch, ultimately could not make it. In the section about former Governor Ahn Hee-jung, she wrote that, while one must of course pay the price for wrongdoing, it is not right to treat someone as a comrade only when convenient and discard them when it is not, and she recorded this conviction as part of their relationship.

The event, hosted by emcee Noh Jeongryeol, began at 2 p.m. with a meeting with the author, followed by the main program at 3 p.m. Local political figures, the Seoul mayoral candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, and heads of neighboring autonomous districts attended in large numbers and graced the occasion.

Members of the National Assembly in the Gangbuk District constituency, Chun Junho and Han Minsoo, attended, along with Oh Gihyung (Dobong-gu B), Park Jumin (Eunpyeong-gu A), Seo Youngkyo (Jungnang-gu A), Park Honggeun (Jungnang-gu B), Jun Hyunhee (Jung-gu and Seongdong-gu A), Kim Youngbae (Seongbuk-gu A), and Moon Jungbok (Siheung-si A). Seongdong District Mayor Jung Wonoh, Jungnang District Mayor Ryu Gyeonggi, Seongbuk District Mayor Lee Seungro, and Eunpyeong District Mayor Kim Mikyung were also present.

Mayor Lee said, "The moment when residents' complaints turn into expectations is my greatest driving force," adding, "For the remainder of my term, I will continue an administration that provides practical support to residents' lives."

Lee Sunhee, Gangbuk District Mayor (sixth from the right), is chanting "Fighting" with supporters at a book launch. Photo provided by the subject.