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| Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, fourth from left in the front row, poses with newly appointed "honorary mayors" of Seoul during an appointment ceremony at the city hall, Friday. Courtesy of Seoul Metropolitan Government |
By Ko Dong-hwan
The Seoul Metropolitan Government on Friday appointed 16 citizens as "honorary mayors" who will represent local citizens by recommending policy ideas to the city government for one year.
After 80 candidates from a variety of fields were recommended in the first round by citizens and related departments, they were handpicked by a selection committee composed of experts. The 16 areas are housing and architecture, urban planning, small business, culture, tourism, transportation, environment, welfare, disability, health, education, women, livelihood, urban safety, digital and design.
The honorary mayors, representing the city's civic sectors in general, will regularly join the city government's policy design and decision-making meetings with government bureaus to make suggestions they deem necessary for the public. In turn, they will also promote city policies to the public.
The unpaid position was first introduced in 2016 to implement citizens' voices into the city government's policy writing more effectively.
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Choi Won-suk from the Public Relations Bureau under the city government said the annual appointment helps the city government realize the value of "companionship with the vulnerable," one of the key directions of Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon. The newly appointed honorary mayors will be the city government's "representative window of communication with the public," he added.
Lee Joo-hyun, 22, a student at Ewha Womans University who was completely paralyzed in her legs by a car accident, has been selected from the disability category. The selection judges recognized her achievement at the Cybathlon 2020 Global Edition where her team finished third place in the exoskeleton race.
Choi Tae-ji, who headed the Korean National Ballet from 1996 to 2001 and 2008 to 2013 and is an executive at the Korea Dance Association, was selected from the culture category. Her contribution to broadening ballet's presence among the public has been highly recognized. She said her aim as one of the honorary mayors is to better popularize the city's culture and arts.
Jeong Yeon-man, a former vice environment minister, said that as a representative of the environment category and with his experience of 30 years under the ministry, he will help the city government introduce environmental policies that are better appreciated by the public.
The 16 categories have increased from nine in number this year to further diversify the roles of honorary mayors, according to the city authority.
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