Five Key Pledges Including Station-Area Belt and Railway Undergrounding
On the 25th, Choi Dongmin, preliminary candidate for Dongdaemun District Mayor, officially announced his candidacy, unveiling the slogan "Leading Dongdaemun, a Mayor Who Delivers," he said on the 26th.
Choi, a preliminary candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press conference on the 10th floor of the Bulljangsaeng Tower (117 Wangsan-ro) that morning, explaining the background of his run by saying, "At a time when the massive waves of ultra-low birthrates, population aging, the climate crisis, and the great AI transition are crashing in all at once, Dongdaemun can no longer remain stuck in place."
Choi Dongmin, prospective candidate for Mayor of Dongdaemun District, holds a press conference announcing his candidacy. Provided by the subject.
A policy expert who has served at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, and the Presidential Office, he stressed his determination by saying, "The district mayor is not a position where you simply learn on the job, but a position where you must deliver from day one," adding that, upon election, he would immediately go into the field to restart stalled projects and accelerate delayed plans.
On this day, Choi presented five key pledges: economic reconstruction through the creation of a Jeegi-Cheongnyangni-Hoegi station-area belt as a mixed-use hub; urban connectivity through putting aboveground railways underground and introducing free circular bus services across the entire district; job creation by fostering social enterprises and start-ups; realizing an educational city by expanding career and college counseling centers into four zones; and citizen communication based on big data and the introduction of the "Hyo Dream Primary Doctor" system.
He emphasized, "I will not be a mayor whose words come first, but a mayor who secures budgets, completes projects, and literally redraws the map," adding, "I will look for answers not in reports but at the eye level of residents, and not in meeting rooms but out on the streets and in the alleyways."
Choi, a former president of the student council at the University of Seoul, has built hands-on experience spanning both central and local administration, having served as a director at the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs, a political affairs aide at the Seoul Metropolitan Government, an administrator at the Presidential Office, and a deputy spokesperson for presidential candidate Lee Jaemyung. He has lived in Dongdaemun District for over 40 years.
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