Heo Seok, Mayor of Suncheon, Holds Press Conference Announcing Re-election Bid

Metaverse Launch Ceremony Held... Pledge Announcements in Virtual Space

[Suncheon=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Hyung-kwon] On the afternoon of the 7th, Heo Seok, a Democratic Party of Korea preliminary candidate for re-election as mayor of Suncheon, held a press conference announcing his candidacy and a metaverse (virtual reality) launch ceremony at his campaign office located in Jorye-dong, Suncheon.

First, the press conference proceeded with a declaration of candidacy and announcement of pledges attended by about 30 local journalists, followed by a Q&A session regarding current municipal issues and campaign promises.

Candidate Heo stated, “Having experienced being a first-term local government head, I was so busy dealing with tasks left by my predecessor, understanding the work, resolving chronic civil complaints, getting to know public officials, and promoting my own pledges that I was almost overworked. For the second term, I want to be chosen by the citizens of Suncheon because I can continue the work without the need to familiarize myself with the tasks or officials again.”

During the Q&A session, various questions were raised ranging from housing supply rates and apartment permits to party nomination rules.

Meanwhile, the metaverse launch ceremony was held in a virtual space with a stage and audience seating, attended by the avatar of preliminary candidate Heo Seok and 30 citizen avatars, with about 130 participants entering. Additionally, around 100 spectators joined.

Although it was a virtual space, the program included the national anthem, a virtual presentation of the pledge “Heo Seok’s Blue Wave” which is active on SNS, greetings from the candidate, and various other programs.

Candidate Heo explained, “Due to COVID-19, the realization of non-face-to-face virtual spaces through the metaverse seems to have accelerated,” and elaborated on his pledge for the “Suncheon Grand Remodeling Project.”

He then proposed, “Beyond just a launch ceremony, let’s dream together of a beautiful Suncheon.” In the metaverse, avatars went up on stage and concluded the event with a group photo.

Preliminary candidate Heo Seok is from Haeryong-myeon, Suncheon, graduated from Suncheon High School and Seoul National University’s Department of Economics, and has served as director of the Labor Issues Research Institute at Dawn, and co-chairman of the Jeonnam joint election committee for Moon Jae-in’s presidential campaign.

In the 2018 Suncheon mayoral election, he was the only Democratic Party mayoral candidate elected in the three cities of the eastern Jeonnam region.

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