Jeonse Fraud vs English Kindergarten... The Start of Gangseo District Mayor By-election 'Pledge Battle'

Major Parties United on Gimpo Airport Height Restrictions
Kim Tae-woo "Attracting English Kindergartens" vs Jin Gyo-hoon "Safety is Welfare"
Kwon Soo-jung & Kwon Hye-in "Relief for Jeonse Fraud Victims through 'Pre-Approval, Post-Compensation'"

Early voting for the October 11 by-election for the Mayor of Gangseo District, Seoul, will end at 6 p.m. on the 7th. As the last election to gauge public sentiment in the Seoul metropolitan area ahead of next year’s general election, it is being called a 'mini general election,' with both ruling and opposition parties engaged in an all-out battle. Both major party candidates have unveiled the card of easing height restrictions near Gimpo Airport, a long-standing issue in Gangseo District, to appeal to voters. However, the ruling and opposition parties are voicing different opinions in other areas such as education, safety, and rental fraud.

Jin Gyo-hoon of the Democratic Party of Korea (left) and Kim Tae-woo, the People Power Party candidate for the Gangseo District Mayor by-election, are campaigning at Banghwa Intersection and Hwagok Station Intersection in Gangseo District, Seoul, respectively, on the 3rd.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Jin Gyo-hoon and Kim Tae-woo Propose Easing Height Restrictions as ‘Long-Standing Issue’ Pledge

The Gangseo District Mayor by-election is holding early voting from the 6th to the 7th, with the main voting day on the 11th. Seven candidates have thrown their hats into the ring, including Kim Tae-woo of the People Power Party, Jin Gyo-hoon of the Democratic Party, Kwon Su-jeong (Justice Party), Kwon Hye-in (Progressive Party), Kim Yu-ri (Green Party), Go Young-il (Free Unification Party), and Lee Myung-ho (Our Republican Party).

Among them, the two major party candidates, Kim Tae-woo and Jin Gyo-hoon, both unanimously emphasize easing height restrictions near Gimpo Airport as a key campaign pledge. Autonomous districts located near Gimpo Airport, including Gangseo District, are subject to height restrictions due to aviation regulations. Gangseo District is under height restriction regulations on 97% of its total area. In particular, buildings exceeding 13 floors (57.86 meters) are prohibited within a 4 km radius of the airport. This regulation follows the international standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), making it difficult for the Korean government to unilaterally change, and it has long been considered a pressing issue for Gangseo District.

Candidate Kim Tae-woo aims to accelerate redevelopment of the old downtown area by easing height restrictions. Kim stated, “We will return the neglected villas to residents as high-rise apartments,” showing his commitment to redeveloping the old downtown. He plans to designate the Gayang housing site (16,537 households) and Deungchon housing site (12,699 households) as special maintenance zones for high-rise apartments, and to promote small-scale redevelopment in the old downtown areas of Hwagokbon-dong, Hwagok 1 and 4-dong, and Deungchon-dong as ‘Moatown.’

Candidate Jin Gyo-hoon has made ‘Creating a Treasure Complex near Gimpo Airport’ his number one pledge. He plans to establish a public-private joint committee directly under the district mayor to review easing height restrictions and aviation obstacles, and to persuade the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and ICAO to relax the restrictions. He also emphasizes developing the area near the airport into a ‘Future Aviation Strategic Industrial Complex’ and attracting cultural, sports, and complex transfer facilities to the airport.

Conservative Candidates Pledge to Create an ‘English Education City’... Jin Gyo-hoon Says ‘Safety is Welfare’

Unlike the easing of height restrictions, candidates are focusing on different pledges in the fields of education and safety. Kim Tae-woo has listed ‘Gangseo as a Premium Education City’ as one of his five major pledges, promising to attract English kindergartens and establish a Gangnam-level academy district. He also places emphasis on education-related pledges such as attracting nationally autonomous private high schools.

Other conservative-leaning candidates have also proposed pledges related to English education. Go Young-il of the Free Unification Party has made ‘Creating an English Common Language City in Gangseo District’ his first pledge. He plans to develop the In Seoul 27 Golf Course near the Gimpo Airport site into a foreign language education and cultural special zone. He also announced plans to build a foreign language special zone cultural experience center on the site of the closed Gojin Middle School.

Lee Myung-ho of Our Republican Party, who agreed to unify with Kim Tae-woo of the People Power Party on the 5th, also pledged to create a ‘Youth Foreign Language Experience Center and English Park.’ The foreign language experience center will be created by relocating the Gangseo District Office in Yeomchang-dong and remodeling the vacated building. The English Park will designate time periods during which only English conversation is allowed.

On the other hand, Jin Gyo-hoon, a former police officer, prioritizes safety pledges. He plans to install a digital safety control room in the district mayor’s office to strengthen disaster safety control functions, enhance radiation testing and origin inspections of seafood, and reinforce security elements on walking paths, school routes, and routes home. He also plans to establish a ‘One-Stop Support Center for Digital Crime Victims’ to actively support their return to daily life.

Last August, participants shouted slogans at the "Press Conference on the Request for Disclosure of Information such as Internal Deliberation Standards and Meeting Minutes of the Jeonse Fraud Victim Support Committee," held by the National Countermeasures Committee for Jeonse Fraud and Empty Jeonse Victims in front of the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

‘We Must Help Victims of Rental Fraud’... Progressive Camp Speaks with One Voice

The progressive camp is actively pushing for measures to address rental fraud victims. Jin Gyo-hoon has pledged to prepare support and prevention measures for victims of rental fraud. The core of his plan includes expanding the rental deposit return guarantee fees for victims, moving expenses for residents of emergency support housing, and monthly rent support for youth. His pledge also includes establishing and publicly announcing appropriate prices through appraisals for small-scale buildings with fewer than 30 units.

Kwon Su-jeong of the Justice Party has made ‘Helping Rental Fraud Victims Without Blind Spots’ her top pledge. She promises support from Gangseo District for victims of ‘empty shell’ rental fraud and those not covered by special rental fraud laws. Additionally, she emphasizes ‘early relief and later recovery’ by establishing a victim support center directly under the district mayor and publicly purchasing deposit claims.

Kwon Hye-in of the Progressive Party similarly lists victim relief without blind spots as her number one pledge, promising ‘early relief and later recovery,’ immediate full-scale investigation of rental fraud victims, and the establishment of a rental fraud SOS center.

Meanwhile, Gangseo District is considered an area with significantly more rental fraud cases than other districts. In the past two years, about 2,700 rental fraud cases occurred in Seoul, with approximately one-third?around 800 cases?occurring in Gangseo District. Of these, more than 600 cases were concentrated in Hwagok-dong.

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