[Interview] Seoul Assembly member Lee Hyo-jin

"Change that citizens can feel begins with solving the small inconveniences of everyday life."

Lee Hyo-jin, a Seoul Metropolitan Council member representing the People Power Party in Seocho 4, entered the council mid-term through a proportional-representation succession during the 11th assembly. Despite her relatively short tenure, she has made her mark by focusing on practical, life-centered policy and institutional reform — leading six ordinance amendments, including expanded support for pregnant women and protections for artists' rights. She said the starting point for any policy is the voices of citizens.

In an interview Wednesday, Lee said her election victory reflects citizens' assessment of her previous council work and represents a mandate for even greater responsibility. "I will do my best to craft policies that bring real, tangible change to people's lives," she said.

The ordinance amendments Lee pursued through the end of the 11th assembly term fall into two broad areas.

The first is expanded support for pregnant women. She established a legal basis for pregnant women to receive discounts on admission fees and parking charges at public facilities operated by the Seoul Metropolitan Government — including city parks, Han River parks, public parking lots, water reclamation centers and the urban architecture exhibition hall.

Lee said addressing the low birth rate cannot remain a matter of lofty declarations, and that pregnant women need support they can actually feel in their daily lives. Reducing the financial burden of visiting a park or finding parking, she said, is itself a meaningful form of policy support.

Her other key achievement is a framework to protect artists' rights in the age of AI. As AI technology rapidly reshapes the creative landscape, she said institutional safeguards are needed to protect artists and their work.

"The scope of AI as a creative tool is expanding, but the uniquely human qualities of artistic expression and the right to create must be protected," she said, describing the ordinance amendment as a first step toward balancing technological advancement with rights protection.

Looking ahead, Lee outlined an approach to lawmaking she described as "starting in the field and finishing as policy."

"What citizens want is not grand political rhetoric — it is change in their daily lives," she said. She added that the voices she encountered through years of volunteer work in Seocho-gu — pregnant women, families with young children, small-business owners, senior citizens and young people — became the foundation for her policy work.

She said she has consistently listened to a wide range of community concerns: the parking costs weighing on pregnant women visiting Han River parks, residents' requests for better amenities at parks they visit with children, and the regulatory difficulties faced by small-business owners.

"Even a small complaint can represent a real inconvenience in someone's life," Lee said. "Turning that into policy is the role of local government."

She identified Seocho-gu's key challenges as addressing the low birth rate, improving residential conditions in areas undergoing reconstruction, and expanding transportation infrastructure in Naegok-dong. She said she plans to strengthen outreach for the public-facility discount program for pregnant women and improve access so it becomes a policy people genuinely use and feel.

For areas where reconstruction projects are underway, she said improvements must go beyond housing conditions to include transportation, pedestrian environments, educational facilities and everyday amenities.

Lee named the activation of the Yangjae AI Future Convergence Innovation Special Zone as her top priority for the next four years. She said the zone must evolve beyond a space for cutting-edge technology development into an innovation ecosystem where industry, employment and education grow together.

To that end, she plans to expand opportunities for AI startups to launch, attract investment and run pilot projects, while creating an environment where young people can develop into future talent through education and hands-on experience.

She said corporate growth and quality job creation can form a virtuous cycle, and that the zone's success should ultimately be measured by improvements in residents' quality of life.

"The AI industry, too, must develop in a way that makes citizens' lives more convenient," she said. "My goal is to build a city where it is good to have and raise children, where seniors can live out their later years safely, and where young people can realize their dreams."

She also cited her experience listening to diverse voices in the field and translating them into policy as one of her strengths. "Even the most complex policy only has meaning when it connects to the life of one individual citizen," Lee said. "I will keep listening to people and finding answers where they live."