Seo Eunsuk (Korean서은숙; Hanja徐銀淑; born 25 September 1967) is a South Korean politician serving as the mayor of Busanjin District of Busan and its first woman mayor from July 2018.[1]

Seo Eunsuk
서은숙
Mayor of Busanjin District
Assumed office
1 July 2018
Preceded byHa Gye-yeol
Member of Busanjin District Council
In office
1 July 2006 – 30 June 2014
Personal details
Born (1967-09-25) 25 September 1967 (age 57)
Political partyDemocratic
Alma materBusan Women's College
Pusan National University

Seo, along with Buk District Mayor Jeong Myeong-hui and Geumjeong District Mayor Jeong Mi-yeong, was elected as the first woman mayor of their respective district in Busan in the 2018 election[2] where 13 out of 16 autonomous districts/counties of Busan, including Busanjin District, have their first mayors not from People Power Party or its preceding parties.[3][4]

Seo previously served as a member of the district legislature from 2006 to 2014. During her first term from 2006 to 2010, she served as the only democratic member of the Busanjin District Council[5]

In the 2018 election, Seo defeated Kim Yeong-wook (Korean김영욱) from the main opposition party who served as a three-term member of Busan Metropolitan Council.[6]

In 1989 Seo was the president of the student union of her college, Busan Women's College, the only women's university outside of Seoul Capital Area. In 2002 she was the secretary-general of an organisation consisted of members from civil societies supporting Roh Moo-hyun's presidential campaign and led by then-lawyer Moon Jae-in.[5][1] After losing her election in 2014, she worked for then-Mayor of Seoul Park Won-soon as one of his special advisors on policy.[7][1][5]

Seo holds two degrees - a bachelor in English language and literature from Busan Women's College and a master's in ethics from Pusan National University where she also completed a doctorate programme on ethics.[8]

Electoral history

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Election Year Post Party Affiliation Votes Percentage of votes Results
4th Local Election 2006 Member of Busanjin District Council (proportional representation) Uri Party 29,078 18.74% Won
5th Local Election 2010 Member of Busanjin District Council Democratic Party (2008) 7,228 35.83% Won
6th Local Election 2014 Member of Busan Metropolitan Council from Busanjin District 2nd district New Politics Alliance for Democracy (NPAD) 18,427 41.74% Lost
7th Local Election 2018 Mayor of Busanjin District Democratic Party 89,399 50.1% Won

References

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  1. ^ a b c 서은숙 부산진구청장 당선인 '부산 중심 변화 앞장'. Busan Ilbo (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  2. ^ 차, 근호 (2018-06-14). "[6·13선거] '여풍당당' 민주당 부산서 구청장 3명 당선 기염". Yonhap News Agency (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  3. ^ 부산 구청장 16곳 중 13곳을 민주당이 휩쓸었다(업데이트). HuffPost Korea (in Korean). 2018-06-13. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  4. ^ 한국당 3선 구청장에 맞선 민주당 여성 구청장 후보 2인방. The Hankyoreh (in Korean). 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  5. ^ a b c "노무현이 내 정치의 기준... 그가 부산 디비진 걸 봤어야". OhmyNews (in Korean). 2019-05-16. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  6. ^ "[6.13지방선거 인터뷰] 한국당 김영욱 부산진구청장 후보". Pressian (in Korean). 2018-06-08. Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  7. ^ [베스트단체장 인터뷰] 서은숙 부산진구청장② "소통은 사람몸의 허파와 같다". www.polinews.co.kr (in Korean). Retrieved 2020-09-05.
  8. ^ 서은숙 :: 네이버 인물검색. people.search.naver.com. Retrieved 2020-09-05.