2026.10.13. The Fair Economy — "In the past, lawmakers from the People Power Party would have opposed the organizational reform plan of the district mayor from the Democratic Party of Korea. But after examining the plan, it seemed necessary to reorganize. So our party's lawmakers voted 100% in favor."
Vice Chairman Jeon Yong-ho of the Namdong-gu Council met with Namdong-gu reporters on the 12th and explained why he cooperated with the organizational restructuring plan of Democratic Party of Korea-affiliated mayor Lee Byeong-rae.
Vice Chair Jeon is a second-term lawmaker from the People Power Party. The 10th Namdong-gu Council was inaugurated on July 3, electing Kim Jae-nam, from the Democratic Party of Korea, as chair and Jeon as vice chair with a unanimous vote of all 18 members. In the June 3 local elections, the Democratic Party of Korea won 10 seats and the People Power Party won 8. Vice Chair Jeon emphasized, "Local lawmakers should not jump into political strife. If you want to fight, go to Yeouido and fight; in local politics, let's not fight."
He looked back on the past four years as "a time to ask myself why I am in politics." He added, "The district mayor has authority over organization and personnel. The council should be faithful to its role of supervising the budget and administration."
The Namdong-gu Council passed the comprehensive amendment to the ordinance on the establishment of administrative bodies at the regular session of the 312nd meeting on September 9. Namdong-gu reorganized its structure from 7 bureaus, 2 offices, and 36 divisions to 7 bureaus, 3 offices, 1 unit, and 37 divisions while establishing a new Housing Maintenance Division. The number of local public officials was also increased by 28.
Vice Chair Jeon has high expectations for the newly established Housing Maintenance Division. He said, "More than 11 redevelopment and reconstruction projects are underway in Namdong-gu. To make Namdong-gu a place where people want to live, we need to attract the younger generation. Would young people come to a 40-year-old villa?" Namdong-gu is promoting maintenance projects in stages in about 40 locations, including 7 reconstruction and 2 redevelopment sites.
Regarding financial issues, he put forward "management-type administration." Vice Chair Jeon emphasized, "We are telling the executive branch to start with projects that require less district funding. Our position is to pursue management-type district administration for the next one to two years." In this year's main budget, local taxes account for 11.97% of general account revenue, and subsidies account for 68.4%. Mayor Lee Byeong-rae also mentioned at his inauguration on July 1 that the reserve fund was only 30 million won, indicating a fiscal crisis.
As a second-term lawmaker, Vice Chair Jeon cited the resolution of the Gil Medical Center funeral hall issue as a representative achievement. In November 2021, Namdong-gu approved the expansion of funeral facilities at 1198 Guwol-dong, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, but residents of nearby apartments protested. Vice Chair Jeon explained, "It was a case where the construction of a funeral hall was approved just 15 meters from the apartment complex in Guwol 2-dong."
He said that after an eight-month struggle, he succeeded in canceling the construction of the funeral facility. On February 20, 2023, Namdong-gu and Gil Medical Center agreed to abandon the expansion of the funeral facility and change the plan.
Vice Chair Jeon's day starts early in the morning. He said, "I start at 5:40 a.m. and finish at 11 p.m. I also come out on Saturdays and Sundays." He walks all over his district, Guwol 2-dong, Ganseok 2-dong, and Ganseok 3-dong, carrying garbage bags. He added, "People say that politicians don't show their faces after elections. I think I should show my face, so I receive many complaints."
Vice Chair Jeon promised the residents of Namdong-gu, "I will serve as a council member who examines every corner. I will not lose my original resolve."
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