Daegu Mayor-elect Choo Kyung-ho poses for a photo with the heads and members of the Seomun Market merchants association on Saturday. [Provided by the Daegu mayoral transition committee]
Daegu Mayor-elect Choo Kyung-ho poses for a photo with the heads and members of the Seomun Market merchants association on Saturday. [Provided by the Daegu mayoral transition committee]

Daegu Mayor-elect Choo Kyung-ho visited Seomun Market on Saturday to meet with merchants and hear their concerns firsthand.

Choo arrived at the market at 11 a.m., touring its various sections to assess recent price trends and shifts in consumer behavior while listening to the difficulties facing vendors.

He thanked merchants for their support during the recent local elections and used the visit to gather candid feedback ahead of his inauguration.

Choo held a meeting with the Seomun Market merchants association's leadership at the association's office, where participants exchanged a range of views on ways to revitalize the market and surrounding commercial district.

Merchants called for expanded parking to improve customer convenience and create a more comfortable shopping environment. They also asked for greater practical support to help revive the struggling commercial district.

In response, Choo said he would "pay sustained attention to expanding facilities and improving the user environment so that traditional markets can be reborn as more convenient and appealing spaces for citizens." He added that he would "carefully review the opinions raised on the ground and draw up realistic support measures that can genuinely breathe life back into the commercial district."

"Despite difficult fiscal conditions, I will work with the relevant district offices to push ahead with what can be done," he said. "If the merchants association coordinates its views and submits them as proposals, that will be a great help in moving projects forward."

Choo said he would "actively urge the central government to develop small-business support policies at the national level that reflect current realities by analyzing recently changed consumption patterns." He also pledged to "work with district offices to carry out city-level support measures in a substantive way."


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