May 16, 2002

Upcoming Mayoral Election

The June 13 local elections for mayor are still four weeks away, but according to recent polls, the race is all but over. An SangYoung, the incumbent mayor from the GNP (Grand National Party) leads the the four way race with 49.4% of the vote according to the survey. The closest contender is Han Ehun of the MDP (Millennium Democratic Party) received 15% support, which was significantly lower than expected. Two minor candidates, Kim Suk Joon (of Democratic Labor) and Roh Chang Dong (an independent) received 4.7% and 3.5% respectively.
An's large lead is attributed in part to his prominence as the incumbent, but also to the boost received during his party's nomination process. Han, however, was not the favorite going into his party's caucus, but emerged as the surprise nominee. An received 72% support from members of his own party, while Han only received 49% support from members of his. Han enjoyed greater popularity among men than women and polled relatively well with businessmen and those who were self-employed. An enjoyed a broad base of support and polled particularly well with unemployed people. Han's campaign suffered another setback recently after MDP's presidential nominee, Roh MooHyun, recently met with former president Kim Young Sam (GNP). Apparently, in exchange for Kim's support in December's national election, Roh offered to stay out of Busan politics, thereby denying Han the support of MDP's national resources.

Profiles of Busan's 2002 Mayoral Candidates

An Sang Young (GNP - Grand National Party) He defines the upcoming election as an 'utterly important to win" in order to propel the GNP back into the presidential office come December. In order for Lee HweChang (GNP presidential candidate) to win the presidential race, the GNP must keep its stronghold here in Busan. He characterizes the MDP presidential candidate, Roh Moo Hyun, as just a second KimDaeJung, and MDP mayoral candidate, Han E Hyun is just a representative of the same thing.
Han E Hyun (MDP - Millennium Democratic Party) His campaign slogan is 'Let's build a New Busan with a new mayor'. He points out that despite An Sang Yong being mayor of Busan for a total of 11 years, the city is still has many unsolved problems. To illustrate his assertion, he points to enormous debts, increased utility prices, and the most sluggish economy in Korea. As his background is in economics, he says his skills and knowledge are what's needed to rescue Busan's faltering economy.
Kim Suk Joon (Democratic Labor Party) Kim claims that "I must be elected in order to insure a more efficient system of autonomy for Busan". He believes that Busan local government has become too subordinated to the national government and without changes Busan will lose its freedom of independent decision making. Kim is a strong supporter of the five day work week in order to address deteriorating work conditions and believes the discrimination between 'official' jobs and part-time or 'under the table' jobs must be eliminated.
Roh Chang Dong (Independent) Roh is the CEO of Good Morning Busan (an investment services firm) and is the youngest of the candidates. He believes he is best able to understand the needs of the '386 generation'* and is targeting this group as well as university students, salaryment, and professionals to boost his popularity. A significant portion of his support also comes from women voters (he is generally regarded as the most handsome candidate). * 386 generation refers to 3 - in their thirties now, 8 - attended university in the 80's, 6 - born in the 60's.

Bookstores owners protest the arrival of Kyobo
A coalition of Busan book store owners are continuing their opposition to the opening of Kyobo Books near Seomyeon. Kyobo is Korea's largest book chain and smaller bookstores fear they will be forced out of business by the competition. Kyobo finally opened its first store in Busan on May 1, after years of battling legal challenges presented by the coalition. Since the store has opened, the coalition has been picketing in front of the store and attempting to prevent customers from entering. Last weekend, 18 members of the coalition began a hunger strike to draw attention to their plight. Kyobo has plans to open other branches throughout the city (including in Haeundae and Nampodong), but is waiting to see how the first pilot store fares in the Busan market.

New Tour Bus Service
Busan City hall announced the launch of a new tour bus service to begin May 17. There will be two main routes - both will depart from Lotte Dept. store in Seomyeon. One will travel from Lotte to Busan Station, Taejeongdae Chagalchi, PIFF Square and Yongdusan Park, The other will travel from Lotte to Asiad Stadium (in Sajikdong), Chungyulsa, Haeundae, Bexco, the Busan Art Museum, Gwanganli, the UN cemetery, and the cultural center. Both tours will last about four hours twice a day - 9am - and 1:40. Each bus Each bus will have a capacity of 28 persons. Foreigners will be charged 10,000 won, while Koreans will be charged 5,000 won. Tour information will be provided in Chinese, Japanese, English, and Korean. Other specialized tours and full day tours will also be available. For more information, go to the SaePusan Website or contact 851-0600 or [email protected]. 

Translation provided by Ha Sun Ha & Jiyeon Song

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