Mayor Shin Sangjin: "'Seongnam line,' you say... Why attach a label to innocent Seongnam?"

Shin Sangjin, Seongnam Mayor, on Political Controversy: "The Pride of 910,000 Residents Has Been Hurt"
Urges Restraint on Social Media in Referring to Public Corporation Chiefs and Justice Minister Nominee
In Separate Post on U.S. Election, Says "The Lee Jaemyung Administration Should Also Take This as a Lesson"

Shin Sangjin, mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, expressed regret over the term “Seongnam line,” which has recently been used by politicians and the media in connection with the heads of public corporations and a nominee for justice minister. He said that, as the personal and political ties of certain individuals are brought to the fore, the name of the city is being misused as a label in a negative frame, hurting all Seongnam residents, and asked the media to refrain from using the term.

Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin. Photo courtesy of Seongnam City.

In a post on his social media account, Mayor Shin asked, “Why does the innocent name ‘Seongnam’ have to be attached like a label?” and “Why should the 910,000 Seongnam residents, who quietly and diligently go about their lives every day, have their pride hurt?”

He pointed out that indiscriminately borrowing the name of a local government to define the interests of a particular political force or network could draw all local residents into unwanted political disputes.

Mayor Shin stressed that Seongnam City has made strenuous efforts over the past five years or so to restore administrative transparency, fairness, and integrity. Citing the city’s active efforts to recover development gains in connection with the Daejang-dong development corruption scandal, which drew controversy in the past, he emphasized that Seongnam today has clearly distanced itself from past dysfunction and is on the path to normalization.

He added, “If there is a need to refer to certain individuals’ collusive ties or affiliations, wouldn’t it make more sense to call them something like the ‘Myongji line,’ which reflects their actual nature, rather than dragging a place name into it?”

Screenshot of Seongnam Mayor Shin Sangjin's Facebook page

In a separate post published earlier that same day, Mayor Shin commented on the U.S. election results, saying, “People held back their anger and quietly cast their votes.” He said that a lack of communication with the public could lead to the perception that people have been left out of government affairs, and that dissatisfaction with policies could be expressed at the ballot box. “The Lee Jaemyung administration should also take this as a lesson,” he said.

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