[D-16, The Power of the Market] 14 Years and 10 Months of Democratic Leadership Since the Election, 9 Years and 2 Months of People Power Party Leadership

The First Elected Mayor of Seoul, Jo Sun

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Since the era of local autonomy began in July 1995, a total of five Seoul mayors have led the city. Currently, the predecessors of the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party have each managed Seoul's administration for about 14 years and 9 years, respectively.

The first elected mayor was Mayor Jo Soon (30th), who led Seoul for 2 years and 2 months from July 1995 to September 1997 until he ran as the presidential candidate of the Unified Democratic Party. He was succeeded by Mayor Ko Gun (31st), also from the Democratic Party, who served from July 1998 to June 2002. From the 32nd to the 34th mayor, Seoul was led by mayors affiliated with the People Power Party for 9 years. Lee Myung-bak, who emerged as a surprise star, served as mayor for 4 years from July 2002 to June 2006, followed by Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who held the office for 5 years from July 2006 to August 2011.

Following Mayor Oh, Mayor Park Won-soon took office in October 2011 after unifying with candidate Ahn Cheol-soo and served as mayor for 10 years until July 2020. Mayor Park was elected as an independent but belonged to the pro-democracy camp and was the longest-serving elected mayor. In terms of duration, since 1995, pro-democracy mayors have led Seoul for about 14 years and 10 months, while People Power Party-affiliated mayors have governed for approximately 9 years and 2 months.

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