Since taking office, District Mayor Yoo Dong-kyun has held two press briefings — a rarity — with a salted shrimp festival briefing also in the works
Yoo Dong-kyun, elected Mapo-gu district mayor for the ninth elected-term administration after previously serving in the seventh, has been actively engaging with the press since taking office.
Much of the credit, observers say, goes to Lee Ki-yeon, the district's communications officer.
Yoo held a press briefing shortly after his inauguration to outline his vision for the district. More recently, he convened a news conference near Seoul City Hall to lay out his positions on local issues, including a waste-recovery facility, traffic problems and the installation of a memorial sculpture for victims of the Sampoong Department Store collapse.
Sources inside and outside Mapo-gu say Lee provided the operational groundwork for both media events.
Lee served as press team leader and public affairs director during the eighth elected-term administration and has continued in a communications role under the ninth. He is preparing a briefing on the salted shrimp festival, scheduled for Oct. 7.
"Lee is passionate about his work, and I understand the district mayor places great trust in him," a senior Mapo-gu official said. "There is a good chance he will take on an even bigger role going forward." Another official was equally complimentary, saying his work ethic was "remarkable."
However, it would be difficult to attribute the district mayor's media engagement to any single civil servant. Alongside the internal praise for Lee, what stands out is that Mapo-gu has been proactively holding briefings to address key local issues directly.
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