The right person to tackle redevelopment, reconstruction and industrial-park challenges
Pursue three major growth initiatives: designate a Peace Economic Special Zone, a Planning and Development Special Zone, and a Growth Management Area
Establish an advanced industrial complex for AI innovations and global ICT manufacturers
\"This election is the most important local vote in our history, and the person Goyang needs most right now is Choi Seung-won.\"
On the 12th, Choi Seung-won, the Democratic Party's Goyang mayoral primary candidate, said, \"As a former policy aide to the Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, I observed the Lee Jae-myung administration's approach up close and believe local governments need officials who can get things done. With the knowledge and experience I gained at the Ministry, I am the right person to resolve the current issues surrounding redevelopment, reconstruction and industrial parks, which is why I am running for mayor of Goyang.\"
Heading into the party's primary on the 13th–14th, Choi has emphasized his credentials as a housing and transportation specialist and former policy aide to the minister. He has been meeting residents across the city to build support, and his campaign has surged to the top of internal suitability polls, generating strong momentum.
Notably, former Goyang Mayor Lee Jae-jun and about 20 of his close associates visited Choi's campaign office on the 10th and joined the campaign, saying, \"Choi Seung-won is the young leader who will carry on the seventh-term administration's governing philosophy and lead Goyang's continuous innovation.\" Their endorsement has helped broaden his base of support.
Choi has framed his campaign around being a policymaker with direct ties to the Lee Jae-myung administration and having broad networks among national politicians, arguing these qualities make him the most suitable candidate for the ruling party.
He also highlights that while there are four candidates in Deokyang-gu, he is the lone candidate in Ilsan East and West — a strategic advantage he says is resonating particularly with younger voters.
A former vice chair of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee and a Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly member during the seventh-term administration, Choi has been reaching voters through text messages and phone calls with a clear message: Goyang needs someone who will expand transport networks, accelerate reconstruction and redevelopment, pursue regulatory reform and attract businesses — someone who will bring projects and budgets to the city.
In internal party polls of Goyang residents and Democratic Party supporters conducted on the 27th–28th of last month, Choi led with 17.3% and 24.2%, respectively.
His three core growth pledges — advancing Opportunity Development Zones with tax and regulatory exceptions, designating Growth Management Areas under the Capital Region Readjustment Planning Act, and centering development on a Peace Economic Special Zone — have appealed to commuters, homemakers, businesses and small merchants alike.
Choi said, \"While Opportunity Development Zones have merit, the most urgent priority is establishing a Peace Economic Special Zone. I will create a high-tech industrial complex that combines AI innovations and global ICT manufacturers to build a self-sustaining city with abundant jobs,\" underscoring his determination.
He described this plan as moving Goyang beyond a bedroom community lacking jobs to a self-sufficient city where commuting to the Peace Economic Special Zone is convenient. He sharply criticized the current mayor for failing to capitalize on Goyang's border-location advantages and for missing the opportunity to establish a Peace Economic Special Zone.
Choi argues this approach is far more realistic than the stalled economic free zone the city has been pursuing.
Senior figures in the Democratic Party have praised him as someone who implements the current administration's governing philosophy, solves problems on the ground, brings expertise in urban development and transportation, and leads change and innovation — a sign his support continues to expand.
Choi emphasized, \"If I become the Democratic Party's nominee for Goyang mayor, I will build a unified team that incorporates the ideas of the excellent candidates who ran with me, recover the four lost years for Goyang, and lead the city's next four years together.\"
© Dailian Co., Ltd. Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited
