Changwon Mayoral Candidate Okseon Lee Vows "First Zero Fare City for Buses in Korea"

Okseon Lee, a preliminary candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea for the Changwon Special City Mayor in Gyeongnam, held a press conference at the City Hall Press Center on the 9th and presented her '3·15 Pledge' ahead of the 9th Nationwide Local Elections.

Candidate Lee stated, "I am announcing a policy platform that embodies the spirit of the 3·15 Uprising, consisting of three major visions, 15 pledges, and the hopes of citizens in the five districts."

She put forward the 'Zero Fare City for Buses' as her first and most groundbreaking pledge.

Candidate Lee promised, "We will make city buses, village buses, and the public bicycle system Nubija completely free of charge," adding, "Just as Luxembourg became the first country in the world to offer zero fare for buses, Changwon will be the first city in South Korea to do so."

She further explained, "All you need to do is tap your boarding record with the Nubija card. By allocating an additional 25 billion won, which accounts for 0.7% of the city's budget, all 1 million citizens will be able to move freely. As the burden of transportation costs disappears, consumption will increase, and as consumption increases, local neighborhoods will be revitalized."

She then described her second key pledge as establishing a public bank or regional financial committee, expanding the participatory budgeting system, and introducing an artificial intelligence (AI) system for budget formulation. These measures will enable citizens to directly review the budget and monitor its usage, under the initiative named '1 Million Citizen Auditors.'

Additionally, she announced the third key pledge: designating a special AI data center zone within the Changwon National Industrial Complex with Doosan Enerbility as a core asset, and reducing citizens' electricity bills by 30% through solar power and hydrogen fuel within the industrial complex.

Okseon Lee, preliminary candidate for Changwon Special City Mayor in Gyeongnam Province from the Democratic Party of Korea, is announcing her campaign pledges. Photo by Seryeong Lee

She also pledged, "I will normalize the stalled Masan Marine New Town development project within one year of taking office and transform the artificial island into Masan K-Renaissance Island."

She emphasized, "The Masan Marine New Town development project should proceed as a public development with support from national finances, without recruiting a seventh private developer, as much as possible."

Furthermore, she included in her pledges: establishing the first public children's hospital in Gyeongnam in Uichang District, creating an AI-based integrated emergency medical command center to ensure that 119 emergency calls are assigned to the optimal hospital within one minute, offering 1.5 times the average salary and interest-free housing loans to essential medical residents, providing emergency childcare support until 10 p.m., and operating a public postpartum care center.

She also proposed establishing a specialized arts high school, building a citizen creator platform, hosting the world's first robot world cup every two years with citizen rival matches, holding a global democracy festival, and enacting legislation to strengthen the authority of the special city.

Candidate Lee stated, "In Happo District there will be the 'Taste Wind,' in Hoiwon District the 'Strength Wind,' in Uichang District the 'Life Wind,' in Seongsan District the 'Dream Wind,' and in Jinhae the 'Style Wind.' When these five winds come together, Changwon will become a city full of excitement."

She concluded, "On the foundation of industrial strength and the spirit of democratization, I will create a proud and vibrant Changwon that brings excitement to all its citizens."

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