10th Seocho-gu Council Opens with Yoo Ji-woong Elected Speaker

The 10th Seocho-gu Council opened its first session — the 350th extraordinary session — and elected Yoo Ji-woong as speaker, marking a vigorous start to the new council.

The council held its first plenary session Thursday morning at 10 a.m. to elect a speaker and deputy speaker, then convened an inauguration ceremony at 2 p.m. to formally begin its legislative work.

All 17 council members voted unanimously to elect Yoo Ji-woong, a two-term incumbent from the People Power Party, as speaker for the first half of the 10th council's term.

Yoo becomes the youngest speaker in Seocho-gu Council history and the first in his 40s, signaling the arrival of a younger, more dynamic council. In the subsequent deputy speaker election, Ahn Jong-suk — a five-term veteran of the Democratic Party of Korea and the council's most senior member — was also elected unanimously.

The afternoon inauguration ceremony was attended by all 17 council members, Seocho-gu District Mayor Jeon Seong-su and senior civil servants from the district administration. Members took an oath pledging to faithfully carry out their duties, followed by a round of introductions among council and executive branch officials.

In his opening address, Yoo said the council's shared purpose was clear. "The one reason we are all gathered here is a common goal — the happiness of Seocho-gu residents and the development of Seocho," he said. "I will fulfill my role as speaker in building a council where dialogue, compromise, mutual prosperity and cooperative governance are alive."

Yoo also drew attention to the significance of the number 10 in the council's designation. "Ten carries the meaning of completing what has come before, and at the same time preparing something new," he said. "In the spirit of completion, let us fill every corner of residents' lives and hearts; in the spirit of preparation, let us ready ourselves for the next 40 years."

District Mayor Jeon used his congratulatory remarks to underscore the importance of close collaboration with the council. "The way to meet the expectations residents have placed in us is for the council and the executive branch to move in one direction for the people of Seocho-gu," Jeon said. "I will communicate with the council without pause as we draw up a shared blueprint for Seocho's future."

The 10th Seocho-gu Council will hold its second plenary session on July 6 to form standing committees and elect their respective chairs.