What Does Yeongdeungpo-gu Mayor Choi Ho-kwon's 'Quiet Leadership' Appointment Signify?

In the 5th Grade Executive Personnel Changes, Showing Willingness to Protect Executives Amid Stability Through 'District Office Organization Stability and Dongjang Replacement,' While Mass Replacement of 6th Grade Team Leaders Reflects Call for 'Innovation and Change' and Receives 'Praise'

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Choi Ho-kwon, Mayor of Yeongdeungpo District (photo), is well known as a humble and kind-hearted mayor among the mayors of Seoul's districts in the 8th term of the elected government.

His usual manner of speaking is quiet and gentle, showing an attitude that seems unlike that of a typical politician.

This character of Mayor Choi was clearly reflected in the first personnel reshuffle of grade 5 officials (department and neighborhood heads) after his inauguration.

The district office department heads hardly moved. Even though the administration changed after 12 years, the key department heads remained in their positions. Because of this, some evaluated the move as "frustrating."

However, when asked by reporters why most of the district executives were retained, Mayor Choi replied, "After receiving work reports, I saw that everyone was doing well. So why change their positions?" This answer was typical of Mayor Choi's style.

It seemed to indicate that although he is an elected mayor, he would not divide the district executives into "my side" or "your side." Usually, when a mayor from a different party is elected, it is common to replace the head of the public relations department, but Mayor Choi retained the public relations head in this personnel reshuffle.

Moreover, it is said that he does not show much interest in promoting himself.

At the same time, among the 18 neighborhood heads, 17 were swapped with each other in an unexpected move. This also appeared to be an unusual personnel decision. However, it is known that this was done to protect neighborhood heads who might face various criticisms during the election by exchanging their positions.

This showed how strongly Mayor Choi is determined to protect his executive staff. No previous district mayor has been seen to have such a mindset.

Mayor Choi graduated from Seoul National University, passed the 34th Administrative Examination, and his first job was as Director of the Culture and Public Relations Office at Yeongdeungpo District Office (now the Public Relations Department Head). After working at Yeongdeungpo District Office for three years, he moved to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, working in Mayor Lee Myung-bak’s secretariat and later serving as an administrative officer at the Blue House, recognized for his ability and character as a high-ranking official. He also served as Consul General in India and Acting Director of the National Gwacheon Science Museum.

Despite this career, Mayor Choi remains a very humble mayor.

However, in the personnel reshuffle of grade 6 officials (team leaders), he made many changes that attracted attention. He assigned relatively inexperienced grade 6 officials to key positions such as the head of the personnel team and the audit team.

This is interpreted as a 'strategic move' to place relatively inexperienced officials in powerful positions so that they handle their work humbly.

The other team leaders were also changed significantly, which is interpreted as a strategy to encourage team leaders to work enthusiastically, reflecting the saying "autonomous district administration is led by team leaders."

In this way, Mayor Choi chose an overall organizational stability approach while pursuing innovation and change in work, demonstrating a sophisticated 'multifaceted leadership.'

In other words, he shows a humble attitude himself while also demonstrating a strong will to control the organization.

This leadership style, which can be described as "a gentle person is scary when angry," seems to be what Mayor Choi has shown, so Yeongdeungpo District Office employees are expected to remain vigilant.

However, it is true that there is an evaluation that the district office atmosphere has improved considerably due to Mayor Choi’s gentle leadership.

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