First Jeonnam Gwangju Vice Mayors for Political Affairs Nominated Through 'Citizen Recommendations': Seungju Baek and Nansil Yoon Appointed

Seungju Baek for Industry and Economy,
Nansil Yoon for Civic Sovereignty and Welfare

Appointments to Follow City Council Hearings

For the first time, vice mayors for political affairs in Jeonnam Gwangju Metropolitan City were selected through nominations and evaluations by citizens. Seungju Baek, distinguished professor at the National University of Suncheon, and Nansil Yoon, chairperson of the Special Committee on Innovation and Autonomy under the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development, have been nominated for the positions.

On August 6, Administrative Vice Mayor and Chair of the Personnel Committee, Kiyeon Hwang, held a briefing at the Gwangju City Hall, announcing that Mayor Hyungbae Min designated Professor Baek as the candidate for the fields of industry, jobs, economy, labor, and advanced core industries, while Chairperson Yoon was nominated for the areas of civic sovereignty, youth and population policy, health and welfare, and gender equality.

From the left in the photo are Seungju Baek and Nansil Yoon, the nominees for the political vice mayor of Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special City.

Born in 1964 in Jangseong, Jeonnam, Professor Baek graduated from Dongsin High School and studied economics at Seoul National University. He entered public service after passing the 34th Civil Service Examination and served as Director General of Fiscal Innovation and Head of Planning and Coordination at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance. He is currently a distinguished professor at the National University of Suncheon. He also served as vice chair of the Jeonnam Gwangju Grand Transformation Planning Committee, which acted as Mayor Min's transition team.

The Personnel Committee rated Professor Baek highly for his experience handling fiscal and industrial policies in the central government and for his ability to coordinate among various institutions. He was described as the ideal candidate to establish the metropolitan city's growth strategies and lead industry and employment policies.

Nominated in the field of civic sovereignty, youth, and welfare, Chairperson Yoon was born in Gangjin, Jeonnam, in 1965. Her resume includes serving as a fourth-term Gwangju City Council member, Head of Social Innovation for Gyeongnam Province, and Institutional Reform Secretary in the Presidential Secretariat during the Moon Jae-in administration. She currently serves as Chairperson of the Special Committee on Innovation and Autonomy under the Presidential Committee for Balanced National Development and formerly chaired the Civic Sovereignty Committee for the Grand Transformation Planning Committee.

The Personnel Committee highlighted Yoon’s strengths in communication and conflict resolution, developed through her experience in civil society and local government. They see her as the right person to institutionalize citizen participation in municipal administration and to coordinate youth, welfare, and gender equality policies.

This recruitment marked the first time Korea's national citizen nomination system for senior local government positions was applied. From July 10, over the span of six days, approximately 400 recommendations were submitted, with 40 applicants registering as official candidates.

An external verification committee composed of experts in personnel and administration reviewed career backgrounds, professional expertise, and job execution plans, narrowing the pool to five candidates per sector, or ten in total. After one candidate withdrew, the remaining nine presented their visions and were evaluated by a citizen jury. Both the on-site assessment and an online vote involving 1,013 citizens each accounted for 50% of the evaluation, narrowing the shortlist to three candidates per area. Mayor Min then selected the final nominees after a final personnel committee review.

The two nominees will be formally appointed after personnel hearings by the metropolitan city council. The metropolitan city has four vice mayors: two for local government and two for national government appointees. National appointee vice mayors are nominated by the mayor and appointed by the president. Although the metropolitan city council recently amended the ordinance to include national vice mayors in hearing procedures, actual hearings can only be held upon the mayor's request.

Meanwhile, there are some differences between the local vice mayor positions and job responsibilities set out in the current administrative organization ordinance and the fields covered in this recruitment. The ordinance divides the two local government vice mayors into vice mayor for cultural industries and vice mayor for economy and agriculture. However, the domains for which Yoon has been nominated—civic sovereignty, youth and population policy, health and welfare, and gender equality—are currently part of the national vice mayor’s jurisdiction by law. Attention is focused on how the city will adjust the titles and responsibilities of the appointed vice mayors.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.