Busan Sasang District Mayor Election: Young Challengers vs. Incumbent

※ Editor's Note = The official campaign period for the 6/3 local elections began on the 21st. In Busan, with the metropolitan mayor election and the Buk-gap by-election drawing national attention, voters have relatively insufficient information about the district mayor elections. Yonhap News will sequentially introduce the main pledges and regional issues of candidates in six battleground districts in Busan, including Sasang District, where a close race is expected.

(Busan=Yonhap News) Reporter Cha Geun-ho = The Busan Sasang District Mayor election for the 6/3 local elections will be a three-way race between young candidates from the ruling and opposition parties and an independent incumbent mayor.

Seo Tae-kyung is running as the candidate for the Democratic Party, and Lee Dae-hoon is running for the People Power Party.

With Cho Byung-gil, the incumbent mayor who was expelled from the People Power Party, running as an independent, the election structure has been set as a three-way contest.

Both Seo and Lee are emphasizing their status as political newcomers in their 40s, while Cho is highlighting his administrative experience and the continuity of district governance as the incumbent mayor.

Seo and Lee both have the commonality of being practical political figures who have served as parliamentary aides and administrative officials in the Blue House and the Presidential Office.

Seo served as a National Assembly aide, an administrative official in the Moon Jae-in administration's Blue House, and the regional committee chairman for the Democratic Party in Sasang District. Lee worked as a senior secretary to the late National Assembly member Jang Je-won and as an administrative official in the Presidential Office's Civil Society Senior Secretary's Office under President Yoon Suk-yeol.

Cho began his public service career as a Grade 9 civil servant and has experience as a district council chairman and mayor, making him an administrative expert.

Sasang District is part of the Western Busan living area, where Busan's representative old industrial areas and old residential areas are intertwined.

Manufacturing bases remain centered around the Sasang Industrial Complex in Gamjeon and Hakjang-dong, and in Mora, Deokpo, Gwaebeop, Jurye, and Eumgung, there are mixed residential areas and apartment complexes behind the industrial complexes.

There is a need for improvement in the living environment, expansion of living infrastructure, and measures for jobs and survival during the process of reorganizing old industrial complexes.

Politically, it is classified as a traditional conservative-leaning area, with the late Assembly member Jang Je-won serving three terms. However, it also holds significant symbolic value as the place where former President Moon Jae-in served as a National Assembly member.

For this reason, the Sasang District election is considered a crucial battleground where the Democratic Party's strategy to capture the Nakdong River Belt and the People Power Party's strategy to defend Western Busan directly clash.

In this election, the dispersion of conservative votes due to the emergence of an independent candidate is being discussed as a key variable.

Democratic Party candidate Seo is appealing for change in Sasang District by leveraging the ruling party's premium and his image as a young candidate.

Seo has pledged to transform the old industrial city into a startup city by creating the 'Sasang Creative Valley,' a startup complex.

The plan is to create startup core facilities by utilizing old factories and abandoned factory sites, and to foster a startup ecosystem that provides one-stop services from incubation to investment linkage and cooperation with institutions such as universities.

He has also presented pledges for the expansion of living sports infrastructure, support for elderly dignity maintenance allowances, complex development of industrial areas, and the 'Sasang Saebitcheon Project' for education, welfare, and urban reorganization.

Seo emphasized, "I will push for the opening of the Sasang-Hadan Line within my term, and focus on resolving long-standing issues such as the relocation of Busan Detention Center, the reflection of the Gyeongbu Line railway underground national plan, and the promotion of the Jurye-Busan Station urban railway project." He added, "As a mayor from the ruling party, I will actively utilize my network in the National Assembly, the Blue House, and the central government to ensure that these long-standing issues and pledges become a reality."

Lee announced plans to develop Sasang into a Western Busan administrative and economic hub by building the second BEXCO, completing and activating the Western Busan Administrative Complex Town, and linking it with the Sasang Dream Smart City.

The plan is to create a Nakdong River waterfront cultural tourism city by designating Samnak Ecological Park as a national garden, constructing the River Bridge, building the Sasang Cultural Center, and creating three major theme rivers.

He promised to reorganize the old industrial structure and create youth jobs by attracting AI solution companies and advanced data centers, and supporting new industry startups.

Lee stated, "As the practical head of the Sasang Development Completion Project promoted by the late Assembly member Jang Je-won, I have designed the specific direction and framework for Sasang's development." He added, "I know better than anyone where Sasang should go in the future and what needs to be resolved first, so I will take responsibility for Sasang's future."

Cho presented the smart city creation through the spatial restructuring and industrial advancement of the Sasang Industrial Complex as his first pledge.

The plan is to revitalize existing manufacturing industries and integrate new industries through deregulation, adjustment of zoning, and complex development of industrial and factory areas.

He also pledged to complete the undergrounding of the Gyeongbu Line railway, urban regeneration projects around the railway, and to expand infrastructure for people with disabilities, such as the National Center for People with Disabilities and the Welfare Support Center.

Cho said, "Based on the achievements of the past four years of district governance, I aim to achieve uninterrupted development." He added, "I believe voters will make a wise choice by looking at the person rather than the political party."