Andong City Council member Lee Jae-gap officially announces his membership in the Democratic Party of Korea on Friday. [Democratic Party of Korea North Gyeongsang Province chapter]
Andong City Council member Lee Jae-gap officially announces his membership in the Democratic Party of Korea on Friday. [Democratic Party of Korea North Gyeongsang Province chapter]

Lee Jae-gap, an Andong city councilman who has served in local government for 36 years since the launch of the local assembly system, has joined the Democratic Party of Korea as the nation's first 10-term local lawmaker.

Lee held a press conference at the Democratic Party of Korea's North Gyeongsang Province chapter on Friday, saying he had made "a new choice for the future and development of Andong."

First elected in 1991, Lee said he had long held a critical view of the party nomination system for local elections. "A local council member should be a representative of residents, not an agent of central politics," he said.

Lee said Andong now stands at a critical crossroads, facing population decline, an aging population, a weakening industrial base and an exodus of youth.

He cited the need for cooperation with the government and the ruling party as the reason behind his decision to join.

"President Lee Jae Myung, who is from Andong, has shown affection and attention toward his hometown," Lee said. "As a council member representing the president's home district, I felt it was the path I should take to respond to that spirit and contribute to Andong's development."

He added, "Now is a decisive moment for Andong to prepare for a new leap forward, and I concluded that close cooperation with the government and the ruling party is essential to turning that opportunity into reality."

Lee pledged to serve as a bridge for Andong's development through close cooperation with the government and the ruling party as a member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

"Drawing on 36 years of legislative experience and the sense of responsibility that comes with being the nation's first 10-term local lawmaker, I will focus all my efforts on conveying Andong's pressing issues to the central government and channeling national budgets and policy toward the region's development," he said.


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