Daegu Mayor-elect Choo Kyung-ho on Monday kicked off a day of outreach visits, meeting with local veterans' organizations, civic groups, disability advocates, women's groups and arts organizations.
He began at 11 a.m. at the Grand Hotel, attending a roundtable with heads of local veterans' organizations hosted by the city of Daegu. There he expressed gratitude and respect for national merit holders and their families and listened to concerns from the veterans' community.
"The freedom and peace that the Republic of Korea enjoys today were built on the noble sacrifice and dedication of our national merit holders," Choo said at the meeting. He added that he would work to ensure veterans' voices are reflected in national policy and that the values of patriotic service spread throughout the community.
Choo then visited the Daegu branch of Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice, where he discussed the overall direction of city governance under the ninth directly elected administration and ways to restore civic pride among Daegu residents.
"I will keep the lines of communication open with civic organizations," he said. He added that the city had set up a public feedback channel on its website so residents could share their views, which he pledged to incorporate fully into the administration's plans.
He also stopped by the office of the Together Disability Parents' Association on Myeongdeok-ro, Suseong-gu, where he met with representatives of the April 20 Daegu Alliance Against Discrimination of People with Disabilities.
Choo later visited the Daegu Women's Hotline, where he pledged to strengthen prevention of stalking and digital sex crimes and support for victims, before calling on the Daegu Arts and Culture Organizations Federation to enlist the arts community's help in establishing a national musical complex and a national museum of modern art in the city.
"I extend my deepest gratitude to the local artists who have upheld Daegu's pride as a cultural city despite difficult circumstances," Choo said. "I will continue to listen to the voices of local artists and steadily advance projects that can be put into practice."
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