'This is about duty and responsibility, not personal honor'
A five-term council speaker candidate to face a five-term mayor
Most-elected Democratic Party official among Seoul's metropolitan and local elected posts
'Respecting seniority means passing on experience, not privilege'
Calls for local council law, stronger role for Seoul council as elder statesman of local legislatures
Kim Ki-deok, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker representing Mapo District 4 and a candidate for speaker of the first half of the 12th Seoul Metropolitan Council, held a press conference Wednesday at the council members' building to outline his vision for the speakership and his plans for running the assembly.
The only five-term elected official among the Democratic Party's metropolitan and local representatives in Seoul, Kim said his bid was driven not by personal ambition but by a sense of duty and responsibility toward the council and the city's residents.
He described his fellow candidates as "invaluable assets of the Democratic Party, each with outstanding capabilities," but argued that the Seoul Metropolitan Council, as the elder statesman of local legislatures nationwide, needed a culture of respecting the experience and judgment of veteran lawmakers — at least when it came to choosing the first-half speaker.
'A Tradition of Respecting Experience and Roles Must Continue'
Kim said respecting seniority was not about privilege or hierarchy but about passing on legislative experience. He called for a council culture in which the experience of senior lawmakers and the energy of junior ones complement each other, arguing that only by sustaining such a tradition could a healthy legislative culture be handed down to the next generation.
As the most-elected and oldest member of the 12th Seoul Metropolitan Council, he said he intended to channel his accumulated experience into fostering unity within the council, supporting first-term and young lawmakers, and keeping a check on Mayor Oh Se-hoon's administration. "I will be a solid pillar of support for first-term and young lawmakers and build a council where every member can fully demonstrate their capabilities," Kim said.
The core vision he put forward was a "strong council" — defined not by simple confrontation with the executive branch but by rigorous scrutiny of policy and budgets and responsible oversight on behalf of residents.
On Mayor Oh's administration specifically, he said the council should cooperate where cooperation was warranted but speak up clearly against policies that ran counter to the public's wishes and against unilateral executive action.
"Neither oversight for its own sake nor unconditional agreement in the name of cooperation is desirable," he said. "True oversight and cooperation mean offering alternatives and correcting what is wrong."
'I Will Be a Speaker Who Helps First-Term and Young Lawmakers Grow'
Kim also identified communication within the council and generational harmony as key priorities. With a large number of first-term and young lawmakers having joined the council, he said he would support them so that their fresh perspectives and energy could translate into tangible legislative results. He outlined plans to deepen their understanding of budgets, administrative procedures and council operations, and to strengthen systems for sharing the experience of senior members.
He named "mediation and integration" as the most essential qualities for a speaker, saying the role required bringing conflicts to resolution and turning diverse opinions into concrete outcomes.
He also pressed for the enactment of a local council law to strengthen the Seoul Metropolitan Council's independence and expertise. "Compared to the scale of Seoul's administration and budget, the council's staffing and institutional support remain inadequate," Kim said. "The legal and institutional foundations must be strengthened so that local councils can properly check the executive branch and enhance their policy capabilities."
He said the Seoul Metropolitan Council should actively raise its voice to help ensure the local council bill recently introduced in the National Assembly is passed without delay.
Kim said council members needed to take a more leading role in resolving local issues, including real estate and housing. "What is needed is a locally tailored approach that considers not just housing supply but also transportation, education, culture and lifestyle infrastructure in an integrated way," he said. "I will support council members — who know their communities best — in communicating directly with residents and reflecting the needs on the ground in policy."
He also laid out a vision for running the council with standing committees at the center, saying the council's strength came not from the speaker alone but from the expertise and on-the-ground experience of individual members. He said he would support standing committees and lawmakers in delivering real results.
"I will not keep the experience of five terms as a personal political asset but put it to use for the Seoul Metropolitan Council and my junior colleagues," Kim said. "I will be a speaker who is judged by residents on the basis of responsibility and results, and one that every council member can rely on at any time."
7toy7@heraldcorp.com
