Lee Jongwook, Head of KCTU Gwangju Branch, Announces Candidacy for Gwangju Mayor

Press Conference Held at City Council Briefing Room on the 5th
"I Will Become a Mayor Who Understands Both Administration and Labor"

Lee Jongwook, head of the Gwangju branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and a former Gwangju city official, has officially announced his candidacy for mayor of Gwangju. On November 5, Lee held a press conference in the briefing room of the Gwangju City Council, stating, "With 30 years of experience in public service and my work as head of the Gwangju branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, I will become a mayor who understands both administration and labor, and a mayor who communicates with the people."

Jongwook Lee (center), head of the Gwangju branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions, held a press conference at the Gwangju City Council on the 5th to announce his candidacy for mayor of Gwangju. On the left is Jaeyeon Kim, co-chair of the Justice Party.

He explained, "After finishing my public service career, I regained my basic political rights and joined the Progressive Party," and appealed, "Let us create a new heyday for Honam and an unimaginably better Gwangju together with Lee Jongwook." He added, "Gwangju can no longer find answers with the existing methods of politics and administration. I will lay the foundation for a city of one million eco-friendly vehicles and usher in the era of Asia Culture Center 2.0."

Lee emphasized, "Major issues in Gwangju, such as the relocation of the military airport, the fiscal crisis, administrative integration, the municipal hospital, the national AI pilot city, and the incineration plant, all require completely different approaches." He continued, "Drawing on my experience in public service and the labor union, I will demonstrate the effectiveness of new politics and administration to the 1.4 million citizens." At the declaration, Kim Jaeyeon, co-chair of the Progressive Party, was also present and expressed support, saying, "I support Head Lee Jongwook's decision to join the party and run for mayor."

Lee began his career as a public official at the Gwangsan District Office in 1995, served as head of the Gwangju branch of the Korean Government Employees' Union in 2018, and has been head of the Gwangju branch of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions since 2021.

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