[Interview] "I am a Kim Du-gwan man, 15th descendant of Nammyung Josik" ... Jo Young-jin, CEO of Nambu Airport Service, announces candidacy for district mayor

Jo Young-jin, CEO of Nambu Airport Service.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Kim Yong-woo] He said from the beginning that he was a ‘Kim Du-gwan man.’ He also introduced himself as the 15th generation descendant of Nammyung (南冥) Jo Sik (曺植).

Jo Young-jin is the CEO of Nambu Airport Service. This company is a subsidiary of Korea Airports Corporation, which operates domestic airports, and manages service personnel working at airport facilities.

The distant descendant of Jo Sik, the teacher whom Jeong In-hong, the Joseon-era ‘Man of Gwanghae-gun’ who risked his life to serve and who tried to completely change even the Confucian scholar Toegye’s Neo-Confucianism and the Confucian shrine by submitting the ‘Hoitbyeoncheok’ memorial, is working here as the CEO.

Of course, it is true that he secured the position of CEO of a subsidiary of a public enterprise affiliated organization by serving as a member of the Democratic Party of Korea and being a political mentee of Assemblyman Kim Du-gwan.

Again, when Gwanghae was ousted, Jeong In-hong was beheaded at nearly 90 years old, but it is historical fact that he fought his entire life to elevate his teacher Jo Sik to the rank of Confucius and lived a life of integrity and loyalty.

From historical records that the master and disciple were very similar, it is not difficult to guess the dignity of Jo Sik, who completed one axis of the Joseon Neo-Confucian Yeongnam School.

It may be futile to try to trace the trajectory of modern politicians’ thoughts and philosophies to the ‘Nammyung School,’ but it can be said that Kim Du-gwan and his man Jo Young-jin share a very similar political and social stubbornness. It is like the firmness and drive that never bend their belief in what is right.

Born in 1966, CEO Jo said, “I still serve my ancestor, Elder Jo Sik,” and “I heard that the people of my hometown, Sancheong, were anxious that the family line might die out because the older generations had few children.”

Jo’s paternal grandfather also passed away early. During the Korean War, he was accused of being a local landlord intellectual and was taken and killed by partisans.

Jo is both a businessman and a politician. He is a successful entrepreneur who has been involved in party activities since 2004, thus spending 18 years immersed in politics, enduring hardships.

This June, he announced his candidacy for the local government head in the nationwide simultaneous local elections. He challenged the position of district mayor of Busanjin-gu, where he resides.

The incumbent is Seo Eun-sook, also from the same party, the Democratic Party of Korea, and he is aiming for that position. In the 2018 election, he narrowly lost to Seo in the party primary and missed the chance to hold a local government position.

He said that although he has to face the incumbent’s premium in the party primary, this time he is confident he will defeat Seo, who does not receive the ‘female rookie’ bonus. Of course, he also strongly stated that he has many assets to defeat the People Power Party candidate in the general election.

His political and spiritual mentor is Kim Du-gwan, known as the ‘Little Roh Moo-hyun’ for his resemblance to former President Roh Moo-hyun.

“If you meet Assemblyman Kim Du-gwan once, you will be deeply captivated by his charm within minutes. I first met him in 1997 when he was the mayor of Namhae County.”

Jo said, “I went to see him after seeing news about him resisting ‘media oppression’ by shutting down the Namhae County press room, which was being misused by reporters who recklessly used it in their underwear because they were sweating.”

At that time, the cramped civil service office expanded due to the disappearance of the press room, and the mayor’s official residence was demolished and turned into a parking lot for civil petitioners. The residents cheered.

Wanting to meet such a person, he sought out ‘Mayor Kim Du-gwan’ for a meeting. It was his first encounter with a political mentor. However, Jo said with a laugh that Assemblyman Kim does not remember that first day.

He graduated from Deoksan High School in Sancheong and got a job at Geumseongsa, which later became LG Electronics. After working at LG Card, he left a large corporation in 2004 and established a personal investment company, making a considerable profit.

When the impeachment crisis of President Roh Moo-hyun began, he jumped into party activities. This marked the start of Jo Young-jin’s life as a politician.

Rooted in political mentor Kim Du-gwan, he worked as a dedicated worker to familiarize himself with leaders of the central political stage and local politics such as Park Jae-yul, Jeong Dong-young, Lee Deok-wook, and Kim Jeong-gil, eventually gaining enough experience to be nominated as a party candidate for district mayor and local parliamentary elections.

He has been fighting for years to make the toll for Baekyangsan Tunnel free. The toll is expected to be abolished around 2025.

However, having pointed out the ‘bad’ operation method that abuses the Minimum Revenue Guarantee (MRG), an incentive for attracting private investment, he did not just wait quietly until the contract expired. He questioned why citizens’ taxes should continue to be subsidized to the private operator despite the tunnel making a profit.

Many citizens remember him holding one-person protests and picketing at Baekyang Tunnel for a long time, determined to bring the road back to the citizens as soon as possible.

Jo classified his leadership style as that of a local government head who creates and boldly pursues future administration rather than an ‘assembly activity type’ who skillfully uses political techniques and power dynamics.

He summarized his two main reasons for challenging the Busanjin District Mayor position. This is his declaration of candidacy.

First, it is for the ‘future.’

“Busanjin-gu lived off the shoe industry for 50 years in the past. There is no food source for the next 50 years now. We must turn the site of the railway workshop into an anti-aging industry base. We need to develop an anti-aging health industrial complex as a back area to Seomyeon Medical Street, which is famous for domestic and international medical tourism.”

Second, it is for the ‘reality.’

“We must make it a district overflowing with jobs for middle-aged and senior citizens. The era has come when local governments are responsible for jobs. The key to job creation lies in vocational education. Trained people are sought everywhere. Bringing residents’ vocational education into the public domain and having the district office lead the livelihood issue is the role and power of a local government head.”

Jo answered a question about whether it is acceptable to engage in party political activities while serving as CEO of a subsidiary of a government-invested organization.

“The CEO of a subsidiary of a public enterprise has no obligation of political neutrality,” he said coolly without hiding, “Whether in the party primary or the general election, if I lose the district mayor election, I plan to finish my work well here until the end of my term at the end of this year.”

When asked, “What is your ideology?” Jo said, “My ideology is ‘Busanjin-gu.’”

“Assemblyman Kim Du-gwan’s line is often rooted ideologically on the ‘left,’ but he does not discriminate people based on left or right,” he said. “My basic stance is the same. Regardless of faction or factionalism, my political goal is to make Busanjin-gu a cultural center and a prosperous place.”

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