Pohang Mayor Park Yong-seon takes office, launches 'All-Good Pohang' vision

Park Yong-seon, the 10th mayor of Pohang, was inaugurated Tuesday and formally launched his administration under the civic vision of "All-Good Pohang."

At the ceremony held at Daejam Hall in Munhwa-dong, with about 600 city employees and residents in attendance, Park pledged a hopeful new start for the city's ninth directly elected administration under the slogan "Great Pohang, a Better Tomorrow."

The event opened with a performance by a 60-member harmonica ensemble, followed by the oath of office, an inaugural address, a video screening of citizen interviews titled "What We Ask of Our Mayor," and a vision declaration ceremony called "First Steps of Hope."

Park outlined three governing principles for his administration: reviving the local economy, achieving balanced development across districts, and strengthening the city's competitiveness.

To realize those goals, he announced five policy objectives — innovation-driven growth, balanced development for a livable Pohang, improved residential conditions for a prosperous Pohang, tourism and culture for a vibrant Pohang, and public safety for a secure Pohang.

"I will make reviving the local economy the top priority of this administration, and build a Pohang where small business owners and the self-employed can smile again and young people want to come back," Park said. "I want residents to feel not that 'the mayor has changed,' but that 'Pohang has truly changed.'"