Lim Man-gyun, a Democratic Party councilor representing Gwanak 3, has been elected speaker for the first half of the 12th Seoul Metropolitan Council. A three-term councilor and former certified labor attorney, Lim chaired the Environment and Water Resources Committee in the 11th Council, leading Seoul's environmental and urban policies. He assumed the speakership for the first half based on his career as an urban and environmental policy expert who has checked the city administration while maintaining balance.
The Seoul Metropolitan Council opened the first extraordinary session of the 12th Council on Monday and elected its speaker and vice speakers. In his opening address, Lim said, "The public will embedded in the divided-government structure of the Seoul Metropolitan Council that citizens created is a call to restore 'again, being true to the assembly.'" He added, "We will be reborn as a strong and capable council that decides when to stop and when to move forward based solely on citizens—not unconditional opposition, unconditional cooperation, unconditional checks, or unconditional silence." He also said, "Policies that fail to secure sufficient communication, policies that lack procedural legitimacy, and above all, one-sided and arbitrary policies that fail to win citizens' support will never cross the threshold of this council."
Elected as vice speakers for the first half were Seong Heum-je, a Democratic Party councilor representing Eunpyeong 1, and Lee Sung-bae, a People Power Party councilor representing Songpa 4. Seong, a three-term councilor, served as Democratic Party floor leader in the 11th Council, performing checks and balances on Seoul's major policies and budget. In his acceptance remarks, he said, "I will be a vice speaker who firmly supports each councilor so that their legislative activities can translate into changes in citizens' lives." He added, "I will build a responsible council that actively cooperates on policies beneficial to citizens and thoroughly scrutinizes flawed policies and budget waste."
Lee, also a three-term councilor, served as People Power Party floor leader in the 11th Council. "The vice speaker's role is to support councilors so they can focus on legislative activities for citizens and local communities," he said. "I will create a council leadership that finds answers in the field and is evaluated by results, contributing to raising the role and status of the Seoul Metropolitan Council."
The 12th Seoul Metropolitan Council was formed as a divided government following the June 3 local elections, with the Democratic Party securing 80 of the 118 total seats and the People Power Party 38, giving the Democratic Party about two-thirds of the seats. Of the seats, 103 are constituency seats and 15 are proportional representation seats. The Democratic Party holds 73 constituency seats and seven proportional seats, while the People Power Party holds 30 constituency seats and eight proportional seats—a structure analysts say allows the Democratic Party to push through measures on its own, such as re-voting on ordinances.
