Mayor Bang Sehwan: "If Administrative Continuity Breaks, Gwangju's Future Halts... I Will Complete a Leap Forward for Gwangju"

Sehwan Bang, Mayor of Gwangju, Officially Announces Bid for Re-election
"The One Who Designed the Projects Must See Them Through for the Citizens"
Pledges to Complete a Self-sufficient City of 500,000 Under the Banner of "Uninterrupted Progress for Gwangju"
Presents Ten Key Pledges in Transportation, Welfare, and Environment Based on Achievements of the 8th Administration

Sehwan Bang, Mayor of Gwangju City in Gyeonggi Province, officially announced his candidacy for the upcoming local elections scheduled for June 3, 2026, on April 29, marking the start of his full-fledged bid for re-election.

Photo by Jonggu Lee shows Se-hwan Bang, Mayor of Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, officially announcing his candidacy for the local elections to be held on June 3.

At a press conference held in the briefing room of Gwangju City Hall that day, Mayor Bang expressed a strong determination to carry over the achievements of the 8th popularly elected administration into the 9th, stating, "If the continuity of administration is broken, the future of Gwangju will inevitably come to a halt."

From the very beginning of his declaration speech, Mayor Bang highlighted "continuity" and "responsibility" as his key themes. He emphasized, "Gwangju now needs a powerful driving force to reach completion," and added, "The person responsible for planning large-scale projects must see them through to the end; this is not only a duty to our citizens but also the way to ensure real change in Gwangju."

This reveals his confidence as the incumbent mayor to steadfastly achieve the goal of building a self-sufficient city of 500,000 residents, based on the groundwork laid during the 8th administration.

Mayor Bang stressed that, during the 8th administration, he secured a record 260 billion won in national and provincial funding, opening an era of a 2 trillion won budget for the city, and achieved remarkable results across economic, transportation, urban environment, welfare, and education sectors.

In particular, Mayor Bang explained his reason for seeking re-election by saying, "Large-scale projects aimed at transforming Gwangju into a self-sufficient city of 500,000 residents have just entered full swing," and "the person who designed these major projects must be the one to see them completed."

Bang Se-hwan, Mayor of Gwangju City, Gyeonggi Province, is officially announcing his candidacy for the local elections to be held on June 3. Photo by Lee Jonggu

Mayor Bang presented ten key pledges as a roadmap for ushering in a new millennium for the city.

First, to build a transportation city centered on railways by 2030, he pledged to expedite the groundbreaking of the Suseo-Gwangju double-track railway, extend the Gyeonggang Line to secure Taejeon and Gosan stations, and push forward with the JTX Central Region Metropolitan Express Railway.

In the welfare sector, he promised to strengthen the operation of the Gwangju Child Growth Center—the largest of its kind in Gyeonggi Province—and to steadily construct the Gyeonggi Province Eastern Early Childhood Experience Education Center. He also vowed to revitalize the city’s first public daycare center for children with disabilities to eliminate gaps in public childcare. Additionally, he highlighted his commitment to completing the four major Gwangju-style forest welfare hubs and to building a sustainable city to achieve carbon neutrality.

Mayor Bang presented "the completion of a sustainable, self-sufficient city of 500,000 residents" as his ultimate goal. He stated that he would readjust unreasonable zoning districts through the reorganization of the city management plan, systematically expand basic infrastructure, and promote the creation of industrial hubs and the improvement of factory-dense areas to increase industrial land supply.

He also pledged to accelerate the second phase of the Gwangju and Gonjiam station area development projects, as well as the Samdong and Chowol station area urban development initiatives, and to enhance residential conditions through the commercial and industrial land complex development project in the Gwangju station area and the Great Gyeongan Stream Project.

Bang Se-hwan, Mayor of Gwangju City, Gyeonggi Province, officially declared his candidacy for the local elections to be held on June 3. Photo by Lee Jong-gu

Mayor Bang declared, "Based on my experience of fulfilling promises to citizens through action, I will take full responsibility for ensuring real change in Gwangju to the end," and pledged, "I will see through to the completion of a hopeful and advancing Gwangju."

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