From 'Noona-Dongsaeng' to Policy Rivals Today... Side by Side 'Park Young-sun vs Woo Sang-ho'

Attended '2021 National Touring Policy Expo in Seoul' hosted by Seoul City Party on 27th
Both gave keynote speeches as Seoul mayor candidates
Park promotes "21 Compact Cities" vs Woo emphasizes "Crisis-Resilient Problem Solver"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] In the upcoming April Seoul mayoral by-election, the ruling party candidates, former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun and Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho, stood side by side.

Park Young-sun, former Minister of SMEs and Startups and a candidate in the Democratic Party of Korea's Seoul mayoral by-election primary, and Assemblyman Woo Sang-ho attended the Policy Expo in Seoul event held at the Democratic Party of Korea Seoul Branch in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. They made hand heart gestures, pledging fair competition. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

At the '2021 National Touring Policy Expo in Seoul' hosted by the Seoul City Party on the 27th, the two candidates, who delivered keynote speeches, focused on highlighting their unique strengths through pre-prepared videos.

Former Minister Park Young-sun once again emphasized her 'Seoul Great Transformation' speech, which she announced when declaring her candidacy for Seoul mayor the previous day.

Park, who proposed the '21-minute Compact City' plan to transform Seoul into 21 multi-nuclear decentralized cities as her first pledge, said, "How we design Seoul after the COVID-19 pandemic will determine whether Seoul can grow into a global city," adding, "We must transition to 21 self-sufficient compact multi-nuclear cities."

Unlike Park, who focused on Seoul's future vision and pledges, lawmaker Woo Sang-ho placed emphasis on convincing party members that he is the right candidate for Seoul mayor.

In his keynote speech delivered via a prepared video, Woo began by saying, "There are talks that it's difficult because the president's approval rating and the party's approval rating are falling," and continued, "When I was the floor leader in 2016, the Democratic Party's approval rating was 22%, but after completing the impeachment of Park Geun-hye and the election of President Moon Jae-in, it rose to 53%. When Woo Sang-ho steps up, approval ratings soar. That's why I earned the nickname 'Woo Sang-ho, the crisis-solving strongman.'" He added, "I will step up to overcome the Democratic Party's crisis," emphasizing, "I am the right person to inherit and develop the policies of former Seoul Mayor Park, which received good evaluations from Seoul citizens."

Regarding real estate policy, Woo launched a 'pro-people policy' offensive by even disclosing his own household finances.

Woo said, "I live in a semi-jeonse (key money deposit lease) apartment costing 50 million won on a 400 million won property," adding, "I understand the hearts of the people without homes better than anyone."

He continued, "We need to comfort their hearts with policies that accompany them and tell them to start again together," stating that this Seoul mayoral election "can be won by advocating democratic and progressive values and competing with pro-people policies."

Woo said, "We will provide public rental housing where young people can live for 10 years and public jeonse housing where newlyweds can live for 20 years." He added, "We will supply public owner-occupied housing where people without homes can live for 30 years," explaining, "This will truly solve many housing problems for ordinary people."

Woo emphasized, "I will create a Seoul where couples do not fight, where they can happily have children, find jobs, and dream of the future in public housing supplied by Woo Sang-ho."

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