Yoo Jeong-bok, the People Power Party candidate for mayor of Incheon, attended a Parents' Day ceremony to express his gratitude to senior citizens and to seek their support.
On May 8, Yoo attended the 54th Parents' Day event hosted by the city of Incheon and offered a deep bow to the seniors in attendance.
He thanked those who helped build today’s Incheon and the Republic of Korea and wished them good health.
At the event, he joined a children’s choir to sing "Eomeoniui Eunhye" as a gesture of appreciation.
Before the program began, Yoo visited booths featuring calligraphy of family mottos, nail-art demonstrations, and busking performances, taking photos and greeting attendees.
Organizers had set aside separate seats for mayoral candidates, but only Yoo was present; Democratic Party candidate Park Chan-dae did not attend.
That afternoon, Yoo held a roundtable with taxi industry representatives under the theme "Taxi drivers ask, Yoo Jeong-bok answers."
Representatives from the Incheon branches of the National Taxi Labor Union and the Democratic Taxi Union, along with the Incheon Taxi Transport Association, attended and submitted a petition requesting expanded support for regular taxi services.
They urged expanded assistance for replacing aging vehicles, subsidies for transit-card fees, improvements to drivers’ working conditions, and stronger labor-management-government cooperation programs.
Yoo said he sympathizes with drivers working hard amid difficult economic conditions and pledged to actively review the newly proposed measures, noting that many of them are already part of current city policy.
He also held a separate meeting with about 20 people, including advisory members of the Women's Council and representatives of the Women Drivers Association.
He highlighted that, during his sixth term, he significantly reduced fiscal debt and stressed, "We restored fiscal health without cutting welfare."
Addressing recent issues in Incheon, he said, "This is a time to protect and further grow Incheon," and argued that a proposed plan to integrate Incheon International Airport must be blocked.
Yoo used Parents' Day to thank seniors and to appeal for support through outreach to taxi operators, women's groups, and other community members.
Incheon = Reporter Lee Chun-man lcm9504@viva100.com
