Seo Young-hak speaks after receiving his certificate of election as Yeosu mayor. [Yeosu City]
Seo Young-hak speaks after receiving his certificate of election as Yeosu mayor. [Yeosu City]

Seo Young-hak, 55, who won the June 3 local elections as Yeosu mayor, said he would transform the southern port city into an "irreplaceable" destination.

Seo made the pledge Monday at a certificate-of-election ceremony held at Yeosu City Hall, drawing on President Lee Jae Myung's first-anniversary governing slogan — "An Irreplaceable Republic of Korea" — to frame his vision for the city.

The ceremony was attended by Lee Tae-woo, chairman of the Yeosu Election Commission and a senior judge at the Suncheon branch of the Gwangju District Court, along with Seo and 33 other newly elected city and provincial assembly members.

Seo identified the successful staging of the 2026 Yeosu World Island Expo — the region's largest festival, set to open in September — as the central task in shaping the city's future.

"I will work together with every citizen, civil servant and community group to make the island expo a success," he said. "We will proudly show the islands and sea, history and culture, and the resilience of Yeosu's people to Korea and the world."

He also pledged to confront entrenched practices head-on. "I will stand firm against outdated customs and never retreat an inch when it comes to changing people's lives," he said. "I will restore Yeosu's pride and open its future."

Seo becomes the first Yeosu mayor born in the 1970s. A native of Namsan-dong, he graduated from Yeosu High School and Chonnam National University before passing the local civil service exam and beginning his career at Yeosu City Hall. He later served as an administrative official in the presidential secretariat and as planning and fiscal officer at the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family before returning to his hometown and winning elected office on his first attempt.

He is eight years behind outgoing Mayor Jeong Gi-myeong at Yeosu High School and nine years his junior — Jeong's term ends June 30.


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