Gwanak-gu District Mayor Park Jun-hee Hits the Ground Running After Historic Third-Term Win

Gwanak-gu District Mayor Park Jun-hee, who secured a historic third consecutive term following his wins in the seventh and eighth rounds of popular elections, wasted no time after his victory was confirmed Wednesday — returning to work that morning and heading straight to community sites.

For lunch, Park visited a restaurant in Inheon-dong participating in the "Gwanaksan Climbing Verification Discount Event," using the occasion to underscore the importance of local economic revitalization. The event is part of a broader "Gwanaksan-linked local commercial district revitalization package": diners who present a photo taken at the Yeonjudae summit receive a 10 percent discount at any of 260 designated restaurants in the area.

Park, who set up a dedicated task force in March to channel Gwanaksan visitors into the local economy, said he would "put a full-scale 'stay-and-spend tourism policy' into operation so that visits to Gwanaksan translate into real vitality for the local economy."

He then made his first official site visits of the new term at the retention basin at Sillim Public Bus Garage and the Sillim Rainwater Pumping Station — both key flood-control assets ahead of the approaching monsoon season.

Park carefully reviewed the operational readiness of the disaster-prevention facilities and their drainage capacity, and urged on-site staff to prepare thoroughly so residents could feel safe even during sudden, heavy downpours.

During the day's schedule, Park also visited the Byeolbit-naerin-cheon music fountain near Bongnim Bridge — which opened June 1 — and listened to residents enjoying the leisure and recreational space.

Park introduced "Byeolbit-naerin-cheon" as Seoul's first branded stream name and successfully advanced the ecological restoration and landmark development project along the waterway through his seventh and eighth terms. In his ninth term, he plans to complete the ecological restoration of Bongcheon Stream as well, focusing on building a sustainable healing and garden city.

Park also thanked district staff for keeping operations running smoothly throughout the election period. In a morning broadcast address, he said: "I will build a better tomorrow for Gwanak-gu so that your dedication and hard work in keeping district affairs stable without interruption becomes a source of pride."

On June 9, Park will host a "Gwanaksan Commercial District Revitalization Progress Report" to align the growing stream of Gwanaksan visitors — up consistently since the first half of the year — with local resources. Under the banner of "From the mountain to the marketplace — a Gwanak worth staying in," he plans to accelerate 25 projects across four areas that have been underway since April, with the goal of establishing a stay-and-spend tourism model and securing new engines of local economic growth.

Running as the Democratic Party of Korea candidate for ninth-term Gwanak-gu district mayor in the June 3 nationwide local elections, Park won 58.45 percent of the vote, becoming the first three-term district mayor in Gwanak-gu's history. The result marked a roughly 5 percentage point improvement over the 52.93 percent he received in the 2022 local elections, reflecting strong public trust and support for his continued leadership.

"I feel both grateful and deeply responsible toward the residents of Gwanak-gu, who believed in eight years of effort to lay the groundwork for a great leap forward and gave me the opportunity to complete an even greater future for the district," Park said. "I will not forget the process of building Gwanak together — going out into the field, listening to residents, and working side by side with them. For the next four years, I will keep my third promise to the people of Gwanak-gu and lead the grand journey of the ninth term, shining together with all 500,000 residents."