Seongdong District Chief Jung Hints at Seoul Mayoral Bid, Calls Himself 'Mild-Mannered Lee Jae-myung'

Jung Won-oh, chief of Seoul's Seongdong District and a potential ruling party candidate for Seoul mayor, described himself as a "mild-mannered Lee Jae-myung" in a radio interview Saturday.

Appearing on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus," Jung said he is "almost mentally prepared" to enter the mayoral primary race. When asked about the key issues for the Seoul mayoral election, he said it should focus on "urban competitiveness and citizens' quality of life."

Jung cited consulting firm Kearney's Global Cities Index (GCI), noting that Seoul's current ranking of 12th is similar to a decade ago, while emphasizing that the city ranks second globally in terms of potential.

Regarding the Han River ferry service promoted by current Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Jung said the project "has been concluded as not viable for transportation purposes." However, he added that "given the massive amount of tax money invested, it may be worth pursuing as a tourist attraction to recoup the costs."

Jung also attended a press conference for his new book "Seongdong-dong" at Pub Jisung in Seongsu-dong on Saturday afternoon. At the event, he shared his thoughts on President Lee Jae-myung's recent post on X (formerly Twitter) praising his work.

"Local governments fall under the executive branch, so it's routine for the head of the executive to praise good work and reprimand shortcomings. But it seems to have drawn considerable attention," Jung said. "I've had opportunities to meet him when he was Seongnam mayor, provincial governor and party leader, and each time he remembered and praised my successful policies. This seems to be an extension of that."

On January 8, President Lee shared an article on X reporting that Seongdong District received over 90 percent positive ratings in a resident satisfaction survey. "District Chief Jung Won-oh must be doing a good job indeed. My satisfaction rating as Seongnam mayor was quite high, but I probably couldn't even compare," Lee wrote.

Jung praised Oh's "Wrist Doctor 9988" program, saying it "promoted walking for citizens' health." He added that he was "quite grateful" for Oh's opposition to martial law and his stance on impeachment.