Three of the district's four Seoul council members now hold key leadership posts — first deputy speaker, steering committee chair and budget committee chair — while a fourth is a veteran of both roles; District Mayor Kim Migyeong also rose through the council ranks
Eunpyeong-gu is emerging as a political powerhouse within the Seoul Metropolitan Council.
Council members from the district have swept a string of key leadership posts in the 12th Seoul Metropolitan Council, claiming seats on the speaker's bench, the steering committee and the budget and settlement special committee.
Three-term lawmaker Seong Heum-je (Democratic Party of Korea, Eunpyeong 1) was elected first deputy speaker, three-term lawmaker Lee Byeong-do (Democratic Party, Eunpyeong 2) was elected steering committee chair, and two-term lawmaker Park Yu-jin (Democratic Party, Eunpyeong 3) was named chair of the budget and settlement special committee.
Three of the four Seoul council members from Eunpyeong-gu now hold core leadership positions in the assembly.
The fourth, three-term lawmaker Lee Hyeon-chan (Democratic Party, Eunpyeong 4), is himself a senior figure who previously served as chair of both the administrative affairs committee and the budget and settlement special committee. In terms of current posts, three of the four hold major positions — but counting career experience, all four Eunpyeong council members carry committee-chair-level weight in the Seoul Metropolitan Council.
Seong Heum-je, first deputy speaker — bridging the executive and the assembly
Seong was elected first deputy speaker of the 12th Seoul Metropolitan Council at the plenary session of the 337th extraordinary session, held July 7.
Seong served as the Democratic Party's floor leader in the 11th Seoul Metropolitan Council, steering his caucus through the difficult circumstances of being in the minority opposition. He earned the trust of fellow lawmakers by checking the city government's key policies and budgets while cooperating with the executive branch on pressing issues as needed.
In his acceptance remarks, Seong said the deputy speakership "is not a position of authority but one of responsibility and service," pledging to "firmly support each lawmaker so that their council work translates into real change in citizens' lives."
He plans to form a task force to review major Seoul city policies, introduce a dedicated policy aide for each council member, strengthen the professional research staff, and expand support for policy forums and research activities.
Lee Byeong-do, steering committee chair — taking the helm of the council's control tower
The Seoul Metropolitan Council then elected Lee Byeong-do as steering committee chair at the 338th extraordinary session on July 21. Lee is a three-term lawmaker, having won consecutive elections in the 10th, 11th and 12th councils.
The steering committee is the central standing committee overseeing the council's overall operations. It has jurisdiction over the council secretariat, the Seoul mayor's secretariat and the political affairs vice mayor's office, and handles major city policies and issues comprehensively.
Lee outlined four priorities for the steering committee: innovation in council activities through AI and digital tools, a full overhaul of the council's public communications, strengthening the support framework for council activities, and building a local constituency support system.
"Rather than leading with authority, I will build a steering committee that runs together with all members on the basis of cooperation and communication," he said, adding that he would share the council's reform achievements with local assemblies across the country to develop a new model for local legislative development.
Park Yu-jin, budget committee chair — guardian of the annual 70 trillion won budget
The Seoul Metropolitan Council elected Park Yu-jin as chair of the budget and settlement special committee at the 339th extraordinary session on Tuesday.
The committee carries the weighty responsibility of deliberating on and approving the budget proposals of the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education for fiscal year 2027. The combined budget for 2026 stands at 69.8 trillion won. Park in effect becomes the steward of an annual budget in the 70 trillion won ($50.6 billion) range.
Park currently serves as vice chair of the culture, sports and tourism committee. She has been credited with championing citizen convenience and the protection of socially vulnerable groups — notably pushing to halt congestion toll collection on the southbound lanes of Namsan Tunnels 1 and 3, improving the three-shift rotation system for fire department civil servants, supporting lifelong education for people with borderline intellectual functioning, and opening school facilities for after-school use.
In her inaugural address, Park set out her guiding principle for budget review: "Those who are hurting, struggling and in difficulty right now must be the first to receive budgetary support."
On the issue of lung cancer diagnoses among school cafeteria workers, she cited as an example applying AI technology from domestic biotech startups to X-rays rather than uniformly conducting costly CT scans. She argued that leveraging innovative technology could extend precision diagnostic opportunities to more workers at lower cost.
Park also signaled that she would subject major city projects pursued by Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon to rigorous scrutiny and reassessment.
She made clear her intention to cut budgets for projects that have been unnecessarily inflated or pushed through unreasonably, redirecting those funds as a priority to areas directly tied to citizens' daily lives — including livelihood stability, welfare and improvements to the education environment.
In the review of Seoul's 2027 budget proposal, welfare, roads and transportation, and urban safety are expected to receive active support, while projects with poor results or accused of being showy are likely to face a ground-up reassessment.
Three-term lawmaker Lee Hyeon-chan, a former chair of the Eunpyeong-gu Facilities Management Corporation, is also drawing attention as he is expected to mount a bid for district mayor of Eunpyeong-gu, building on his record as chair of the assembly's administrative safety committee and budget and settlement special committee.
Three-term District Mayor Kim Migyeong also rose through Seoul council leadership
Eunpyeong-gu's political depth extends beyond its current council members.
Kim Migyeong — a former two-term district council member and three-term Seoul Metropolitan Council member who became the first woman in Seoul to serve three terms as district mayor — was also the first woman in the Seoul Metropolitan Council to chair the urban planning and management committee, building expertise in urban planning and housing policy.
Together, Seong, Lee Byeong-do, Park, Lee Hyeon-chan and District Mayor Kim form the political backbone of Eunpyeong-gu, all having held or currently holding key posts in the Seoul Metropolitan Council.
Observers inside and outside the Seoul Metropolitan Council point to several factors behind the district's rise: all of these figures built long careers in local assemblies as district or city council members, and cultivated strong community bases and solid relationships with fellow lawmakers.
The speaker's bench, the steering committee and the budget and settlement committee are the pillars that determine how the council operates and where Seoul's policies and budget are headed. With Eunpyeong-gu lawmakers occupying all three, the district is expected to gain considerable leverage in resolving local issues and driving regional development.
Whether Eunpyeong-gu can cement its status as the Seoul Metropolitan Council's new political dynasty remains to be seen.
seouldream01@heraldcorp.com
