Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
New Mayor, New Policies
After the South Korean president, the mayor of Seoul is the second most powerful job in
the country, so it was something of a wake-up call for both of Korea's major political
parties - the currently governing Saenuri Party (a conservative party formerly known as
the Grand National Party) and the liberal opposition Democratic United Party (DUP) -
when the previously unelected and politically unaffiliated Park won the election. Known
for promoting a chain of thrift shops for the poor, Park portrayed himself as the nation's
first 'welfare mayor' (South Korea has a minimal social safety net and the gap between
rich and poor is widening).
Opinion polls indicated that Park benefited from a wave of support from younger voters
disillusioned with traditional politics, where the needs of the people have come second to
those of big-business conglomerates (the so-called
jaebeol
), such as Samsung and Hyun-
dai. In a press briefing soon after his election, Park claimed his predecessors did not listen
to the people. He has called a halt to the mega construction projects favoured by his pre-
decessors and started pushing populist ideas such as urban farms.
The Presidential Race
In February 2012, Park affiliated himself with the DUP. However, in the National
Assembly elections in April 2012, the beleaguered Saenuri Party, dogged by a series of
scandals and corruption cases involving President Lee Myung-bak's aides and relatives,
held on to its majority status in the country's parliament. Much of that victory was put
down to the relentless campaigning of the party's interim leader Park Geun-hye, daughter
of South Korea's former dictator, Park Chung-hee.
Attention subsequently shifted to the presidential poll, which is set for December 2012.
At the time of writing, Park Geun-hye is the likely Saenuri Party candidate (Lee Myung-
bak will be stepping down, as South Korean presidents can only serve one four-year term
in office). Other presidential hopefuls include the DUP's Moon Jae-in and the unaffiliated
Ahn Cheol-soo, a professor and IT businessman who was a major supporter of Park Won-
soon to become Seoul's mayor.
Racial Issues
A night out in Itaewon might suggest otherwise, but Seoul, like the rest of Korea, is very
monocultural. According to the Korean Immigration Service, foreigners accounted for
2.8% of the nation's population in 2012, with most of these being Chinese of Korean eth-
