The People Power Party caucus in the 12th Seoul Metropolitan Council backs Mayor Oh Se-hoon's administration, yet inside the chamber it holds just 38 seats against the Democratic Party of Korea's 80. Leadership posts were allotted in proportion to seats, leaving the People Power Party with a single vice speaker position.
Lee Sung-bae, Second Vice Speaker of the Seoul Metropolitan Council and a People Power Party member representing Songpa District 4, marked one month in office by laying out views on the city's real estate and youth policies and on reviving the night economy. Lee called for faster redevelopment and rebuilding of aging housing, support for training young AI talent, and a broader night economy spanning everyday life in the capital, while pledging to steer the 12th council toward policy work.
In an interview with The Seoul Economic Daily on the 9th, Lee said, "I will communicate closely with all 118 council members from both parties and win them over, so that our policies are still recognized as good policies 10 years from now."
Lee's opening emphasis, as a vice speaker from a minority ruling party, fell on cooperation across party lines. In three terms on the council, the first came when the party held only six seats as a tiny opposition bloc, an experience that made Lee value dialogue and persuasion more than most.
"I engage with each member of both parties with a humble posture and an open mind, and I am building trust through diligent legislative work."
To protect budgets tied to everyday livelihoods and key policies, Lee believes a member must build trust in ordinary times, take part in council work in earnest and persuade others persistently. In local politics, the effort to narrow differences by putting policy rather than confrontation at the center is essential for residents, Lee said.
As a vice speaker from the ruling party, Lee aims above all to help Oh's city administration sail smoothly for residents. Opposition for the sake of opposition is undesirable, Lee said, but that does not mean unconditional agreement with City Hall.
Where something is wrong or needs strengthening, Lee intends to point it out actively and offer better alternatives. What matters in the end is not a party's position but producing policy results for Seoul residents, Lee stressed.
Lee has watched with regret as the council's recent budget review stripped all funding from a youth AI support program and a night economy revitalization program. Weighing the relative importance of programs and adjusting amounts up or down is legitimate, Lee said, but cutting the entire budget for programs residents need is a matter that should be reconsidered.
Supporting young people so they can encounter and use AI is essential, in Lee's view. "The youth AI support program is not simply welfare spending but a policy to build the capacity to respond to future industries," Lee said. "How often young people encounter AI and how skillfully they use it can determine their competitiveness in finding jobs or starting businesses, and their ability to perform on the job."
On the night economy program, Lee urged an end to the distorted view that it subsidizes the entertainment and nightlife trade. It should be seen as policy across culture, sports, tourism and shopping, aimed at enriching evenings for Seoul residents, Lee argued.
Unlike in the past, nightlife centered on company dinners and drinking has receded, while demand for exercise, hobbies and family leisure has grown. City policy must evolve along with that shift in lifestyles, Lee said.
Citing the media facade at the Shinsegae department store in Myeong-dong, Lee added, "Residents and tourists come to the streets of Myeong-dong to see the work, and they spend on meals, shopping and lodging, which should feed a virtuous cycle that revives commercial districts and the local economy."
Many members of both parties agree on the need for AI support for young people and for reviving local commerce, Lee said, so the related budgets will be taken up again through discussion.
Turning to supply and demand, Lee said, "It is a basic market principle that prices fall when housing is plentiful and rise when it is scarce," and added, "To stabilize housing for Seoul residents, supply must be increased above all else."
Housing comes down to supply, Lee said, and the answer lies in the pace of renewal projects. With no large tracts of new land for housing available, the city must speed up the rebuilding of aging apartment complexes and the redevelopment of districts to secure real additional supply, Lee explained.
On the dispute between the central government and the city over converting part of Yongsan Park into housing land, Lee backed Oh's position. The concern is not confined to Yongsan Park, Lee said, because development pressure is likely to build on other parks and green spaces as well, which calls for caution.
Because improvements to city rules alone can only go so far in speeding up renewal projects, Lee floated an unexpected proposal: district offices, which understand both the sites and the administrative process, should mediate between associations and City Hall from the earliest stage of a project.
"Projects are delayed and problems arise when associations approach City Hall individually to negotiate," Lee said. "There is a need to form renewal project support teams that include district officials and outside experts."
Lee serves on the Urban Planning and Balanced Development Committee.
Through that committee, Lee wants to plan a forward-looking global Seoul and lift the city's competitiveness a notch through balanced development across districts and urban spatial design.
Seoul is already regarded as an attractive city that people worldwide want to visit, as a hub of Korean culture with innovative IT infrastructure. In Lee's judgment, it has ample potential to join New York and London among the world's top three cities, a goal the city calls G3.
"I regard the city's recent launch of a G3 committee to strengthen global urban competitiveness as very timely policy," Lee said, promising that "the council will actively support this effort so that it moves forward smoothly."
Lee also voiced expectations for the MICE complex being built in Jamsil, part of the district Lee represents. Once completed, it will become a new Seoul landmark capable of drawing world-class exhibitions and conventions along with culture and sports tourists, Lee said. Lee also plans to keep close watch on other major projects driving balanced development across the city, including the Seoul Arena under construction in the northeast and Gwanghwamun Square.
A vice speaker serves a two-year term. Over the next two years, Lee plans to focus less on personal standing than on supporting individual colleagues, in the hope that the council takes another step toward becoming a policy-focused, working assembly.
"Showing residents a council that works is what matters most, I believe."
Lee stressed servant leadership, supporting council members with expertise and capability so they can concentrate on their own legislative work. The leadership should act as a facilitator, Lee said, so that the fresh perspective of first-term members and the deep experience of veterans combine around the standing committees to produce synergy.
"The negative image of politics as constant fighting and confrontation has to change now," Lee said. The council's role is not to display party conflict but to debate policy for residents logically, even where opinions differ, and to produce better alternatives, Lee believes.
Rather than putting grand political goals first, Lee pledged to do the utmost on the task at hand, one step at a time — keeping promises to Seoul residents, resolving local issues and opening the way to the city's future.
