Preliminary Goyang Mayor Candidate Min Kyungseon: "I Will Lay the Foundation for a Local Circulation Economy"

Preliminary Goyang mayoral candidate Min Kyungseon
Holds a “Listening Tour” roundtable on livelihoods
Heated debate with social enterprise and merchants representatives

Min Kyungseon, a preliminary candidate for Goyang mayor, continues his field-oriented “Listening Tour for Livelihood Issues,” accelerating efforts to develop citizen-focused policies. On the morning of February 25, Min held the seventh roundtable at Ilsan Hansol Core, bringing together representatives of social economy organizations and local merchants from Goyang to discuss ways to revitalize the local economy.

Min Kyungseon, preliminary candidate for Goyang mayor. Provided by Min Kyungseon, preliminary candidate.

The roundtable was attended by key stakeholders in the local economy, including Heo Seonju, President of the Goyang Social Economy Federation; Yoon Jaeho, President of the Goyang Social Enterprise Council; Park Yongsuk, CEO of Bab Bread; Park Haegyun, President of the Ilsan Traditional Market Merchants’ Association; and Park Mikyung, President of the Lafesta Merchants’ Association.

Heo Seonju, President of the Federation, pointed out, “Goyang has over 460 social economy organizations, yet lacks a control tower to support them,” and strongly called for the establishment of a “Social Economy Policy Council” directly under the mayor and the creation of a “Social Economy Cluster.”

Yoon Jaeho, President of the Council, followed by proposing, “A bold decision is needed to raise the public sector’s purchase rate of social products from the current 9% to 20%,” and suggested reorganizing relevant departments so that social economy can be fostered from the perspective of an ‘industry’ rather than ‘welfare.’

Merchant association leaders, who represent the frontline of local commerce, also shared their pressing concerns. Park Haegyun, President of the Ilsan Traditional Market Merchants’ Association, appealed, “One-off support such as simple facility improvements is not the answer. Substantial business support measures are urgently needed so that traditional markets can be self-sustaining as the roots of the local economy.”

Park Mikyung, President of the Lafesta Merchants’ Association, emphasized, “Lafesta is structurally categorized as a large-scale commercial area and falls into a blind spot, receiving no national support. Even though individual small business owners within the shopping complex are struggling, institutional limitations prevent them from receiving support. Resolving this issue will require active commitment from the mayor.”

Finally, Park Yongsuk, CEO of Bab Bread, called for the establishment of governance. Park stated, “We need a system where the administration ensures fair resource allocation, intermediary support organizations provide field support, and actual business operations are handled by the stakeholder organizations, with clear roles and responsibilities defined.”

After carefully listening to the numerous suggestions from the panelists, Min Kyungseon expressed a strong will for administrative innovation, repeatedly referencing former Governor Lee Jaemyung during his responses. Min pledged, “I will bring the decisiveness and transparency that former Governor Lee demonstrated in Gyeonggi Province to Goyang. If elected mayor, I will make executive meetings public and establish a ‘direct communication system for civil complaints’ so that the doors to the mayor’s office are always open for direct engagement with the field.”

In particular, regarding support measures for the social economy, Min responded, “Just as former Governor Lee laid the foundation for a local circular economy through local currency, I, Min Kyungseon, will elevate the public purchase ratio and make the social economy a core industry of Goyang with bold drive in the style of Lee Jaemyung.”

He concluded the roundtable by stating, “Rather than one-off events, I will hold quarterly town hall meetings to let citizens directly confirm policy implementation processes,” and announced plans to concretize the on-site suggestions gathered that day as key campaign pledges.

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