Deputy Mayor Born After Over 10 Years of Service at a Seoul District Office Sparks Attention

Published 20 May.2020 16:37(KST)

Updated 20 May.2020 22:05(KST)

Since the inauguration of Mayor Seonghyeon Seong of Yongsan-gu in the 5th term, Kim Seongsu was appointed as Deputy Mayor of Yongsan-gu in January 2011, setting the record as the longest-serving Deputy Mayor of Yongsan-gu for 9 years and 6 months before leaving public office at the end of June... marking the longest-serving Deputy Mayor nationwide since the elected government era.

Seong Jang-hyun, Mayor of Yongsan District (left), and Kim Seong-su, Deputy Mayor of Yongsan District

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] A case has emerged that has become a hot topic, where a deputy district mayor served for over 10 years at a district office in Seoul, setting the record for the longest-serving deputy head of a local government since the introduction of direct elections.

The protagonist of this story is Kim Seong-su, Deputy Mayor of Yongsan-gu (59).

Deputy Mayor Kim graduated from the Department of Economics at Pusan National University, passed the 31st Administrative Examination in 1987, and began his public service career in 1989 as the head of Taxation Division 2 in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul. After more than 30 years of service in Seongbuk-gu, Seoul City, and Yongsan-gu, he is set to enter retirement leave at the end of June.

Deputy Mayor Kim was appointed as Deputy Mayor of Yongsan-gu in January 2011, six months after Seonghyeon Seong, who set the record as Yongsan-gu’s first four-term mayor, took office on July 1, 2010, during the fifth direct election term.

At that time, Mayor Seonghyeon Seong, during Oh Se-hoon’s tenure as Seoul Mayor, received two recommended candidates for deputy mayor from Seoul City and appointed Deputy Mayor Kim. Since then, they have maintained a “beautiful relationship” without a single conflict for over 10 years.

This is interpreted as possible because Mayor Seonghyeon clearly divided roles, taking on the political role himself while entrusting internal administrative affairs to Deputy Mayor Kim.

However, the fact that a deputy mayor can serve alongside a mayor in the same district for over 10 years during the direct election era suggests that Deputy Mayor Kim had a unique specialty.

Most deputy mayors in Seoul’s autonomous districts typically serve for 2 to 3 years before moving to the Seoul City Hall or other affiliated organizations.

However, Deputy Mayor Kim’s ability to serve in one place for over 10 years is believed to be due to his exemplary administrative support that carefully backed Mayor Seonghyeon’s district governance philosophy.

A director at Yongsan-gu said, “Deputy Mayor Kim is not only highly capable but also has an excellent character, and he never had a conflict with Mayor Seonghyeon.”

Deputy Mayor Kim is known for his broad administrative perspective and for providing much guidance to his subordinates.

In particular, he is credited with clearly maintaining the boundary that should not be crossed regarding personnel matters, which are the mayor’s exclusive authority, as a deputy mayor?another key to his longevity.

Despite Deputy Mayor Kim’s many strengths, it is also believed that the large capacity of Mayor Seonghyeon, with whom he worked for over 10 years, made this possible.

A Yongsan-gu official analyzed, “Deputy Mayor Kim’s amicable personality and excellent work ability earned Mayor Seonghyeon’s trust, allowing him to serve in one place for over 10 years. On the other hand, Mayor Seonghyeon’s decision to work with Deputy Mayor Kim until retirement also shows his great capacity.”

Deputy Mayor Kim spent about five years as a Grade 5 (Manager) at Seongbuk-gu Office, then moved to the Seoul City Officials Training Institute as head of the Research and Development Division, and worked for one year as head of the Seoul City Parking Planning Division. He then returned to Seongbuk-gu, serving as Director of the Construction and Transportation Bureau and the Administrative Management Bureau for five years.

In this way, Deputy Mayor Kim worked at Seongbuk-gu Office for about 10 years. During this period, he married Song Mi-ryeong (currently Director of Nowon-gu Office), who was a staff member at Seongbuk-gu at the time, and they have two sons. It is known that Deputy Mayor Kim held his eldest son’s wedding at the War Memorial last year.

Afterward, he served as head of the Seoul City Cultural Policy Division in 2008, was promoted to Grade 3 (Deputy Director General), received training at the Local Administration Training Institute, and served as Deputy Mayor of Yongsan-gu from January 2011 for 9 years and 6 months.

During his more than 30 years of service, Deputy Mayor Kim is known to have worked evenly for about 10 years each at Seongbuk-gu, Seoul City, and Yongsan-gu.

Deputy Mayor Kim is reported to plan to take a break after entering retirement leave at the end of June and consider his future course.

Meanwhile, Deputy Mayor Kim’s fellow 31st Administrative Examination cohort members among Seoul’s senior officials include Lee Chang-hak, Secretary General of the Seoul Metropolitan Council; Ahn Jun-ho, Deputy Mayor of Songpa-gu; Kim Kyung-ho, President of Seoul Agricultural and Marine Products Corporation; Ko Hong-seok, former head of the Transportation Headquarters; and Kim Byung-hwan, former Deputy Mayor of Seongbuk-gu.