Suh Byung-soo (
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
: 서병수, born 9 January 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the
Mayor of Busan
The Mayor of Busan () is the head of the local government of Busan who is elected to a four-year term.
List of mayors Appointed mayors (before 1995)
From 1946 to 1995, the Mayor of Busan was appointed by the President of South Korea, Presiden ...
from 2014 to 2018. He previously served as the
Member of the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...
for
Haeundae-
Gijang 1st constituency from 2002 to 2014 and the Mayor of Haeundae from 2000 to 2002.
A member of the
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...
People Power
"People Power" is a political term denoting the populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organised corporate or political for ...
, Suh was elected the Mayor of Busan
on 4 June 2014, defeating the
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidate
Oh Keo-don.
In 2018, he ran for re-election but lost to Oh, who ran under the
Democratic banner.
Early life
Suh Byung-soo was born in 1952, in the town of
Daun
Daun is a town in the Vulkaneifel district in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is the district seat and also the seat of the ' of Daun.
Geography
Location
The town lies in the , a part of the Eifel known for its volcanic history, geogra ...
,
Ulsan
Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...
,
South Gyeongsang
South Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상남도, translit=Gyeongsangnam-do, ) is a province in the southeast of South Korea. The provincial capital is at Changwon. It is adjacent to the major metropolitan center and port of Busan. The UNESCO World ...
(now Daun-dong,
Central District,
Ulsan
Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...
), to the son of
Suh Seok-in (died in 2020), the founder of
Woojin Service who had served as the Member of the
Busan Metropolican Council from 1991 to 1995 and the Mayor of
Haeundae from 1995 to 1998.
His mom died in February 1997.
He is the eldest among 4 sons and a daughter to the ex-Haeundae Mayor; he is the brother to Suh Ha-soo, Suh Hyun-soo and
Suh Bum-soo.
Although he was born in
Ulsan
Ulsan (), officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City is South Korea's seventh-largest metropolitan city and the eighth-largest city overall, with a population of over 1.1 million inhabitants. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring ...
, he grew up in
Yeongdo
Yeongdo District is a '' gu'' in Busan, South Korea. The ''gu'' itself is limited to Yeong-do (''Yeong Island'') located on the south edge of central Busan. It attained the status of ''gu'' in 1957.
The Korea Maritime and Ocean University and t ...
,
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
.
He went to 3 different schools —
Yeongdo Primary School,
Busan Secondary School and
Kyungnam High School.
He later attended
Sogang University
Sogang University (SU, Hangul: 서강대학교 Hanja: 西江大學校, literally "West River University") is one of the most prestigious private research universities in Seoul, South Korea. It was established in 1960 by the Wisconsin Province of ...
and received a bachelor's and a master's degree in
economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
.
Then, he fled to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and received a doctorate in economics from
Northern Illinois University
Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois. It was founded as Northern Illinois State Normal School on May 22, 1895, by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld as part of an expansion of the state's system ...
in 1987.
Following the graduation, he briefly worked at
Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...
before he returned to
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
and continued his career at
Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials and
Presidential Advisory Council on Science and Technology
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
* President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...
.
In 1990s, he was the CEO of Woojin Service,
succeeding his father who had resigned in order to run for the
1991 local elections. He served till the end of 1997,
however, in 2000, some sources reported that he was still serving the position at that time.
This time, he was also an adjunct professor at
Dong-Pusan College.
Political career
In the
2000 by-elections, Suh ran as the
Grand National Party
The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...
(GNP)'s nominee for the Mayor of Haeundae and was elected,
defeating 2
independent
Independent or Independents may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups
* Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s
* Independ ...
candidates (the then-ruling
Millennium Democratic Party
The Democratic Party (; DP) was a political party in South Korea. Formerly named Millennium Democratic Party (; MDP), it was renamed in May 6, 2005. After its dissolution, its members joined the Uri Party or the successor Democratic Party.
Hi ...
aka MDP did not put a candidate). He succeeded the predecessor
Shin Joong-bock, whose election was annulled for violating the election law in 1999. He promised to attract both foreign and private capitals and make the district as a logistic hub for information and tourism.
Under his mayorship, he had successfully fixed hawker stalls at Hoan Road and built Moontan Road.
He resigned on 7 February 2002 in order to run for the MP for Haeundae-
Gijang 1st constituency at the
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
called due to the death of
Sohn Tae-in. He won with 27,961 votes, defeating the MDP candidate
. In the
2004 election, he again contested with Choi In-ho who ran under the
Uri Party
The Yeollin Uri Party (), generally abbreviated to Uri Party (), was the ruling political party in South Korea from 2003–2007. It had a liberal political ideology in order to support then President Roh Moo-hyun. Chung Sye Kyun was the last le ...
banner in this time. Despite coming behind in exit polls, he successfully beat his rival.
Shortly after the re-election
in 2008, he served as the Chairman of the Strategy and Finance Committee,
for this time, he suggested an amendment of the Tax Law and Bank of Korea Act, including tax reduction.
In 2010, he was elected as a Vice President of the GNP.
In the
2012 election
This national electoral calendar for 2012 lists the national/ federal elections held in 2012 in all sovereign states and their dependent territories. By-elections are excluded, though national referendums are included.
January
*3–4 January: ...
, Suh contested under the
Saenuri
The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism ma ...
banner and defeated the
DFP-
UFP unity candidate,
Goh Chang-kwon, with a majority of 18,705 votes. He was a potential candidate for the Saenuri parliamentary leader, but some media suggested he could be "nominated" the position under the interim President
Park Geun-hye
Park Geun-hye (; ; often in English ; born 2 February 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the 11th president of South Korea from 2013 to 2017, until she was impeached and convicted on related corruption charges.
Park was the fi ...
.
Known as the "Nominee List",
on 25 April, he finally declared to not seek for the position.
On 21 May, under the new President
Hwang Woo-yea
Hwang Woo-yea ( ko, 황우여, Hanja: 黃祐呂; born 3 August 1947) is a Korean jurist, politician, and former chairman of the Saenuri Party. Hwang represents the electorate centred on Yeonsu District, Incheon in the National Assembly of S ...
, he was appointed the party's Secretary-General.
As the Secretary-General, he contributed its presidential candidate Park Geun-hye to be
elected to the position in December.
Mayor of Busan
2014 mayoral election
On 26 February 2014, Suh officially launched his bid for Busan mayorship at
Daehang Saebaji Harbour,
Gadeok Island
Gadeokdo is an island of Busan, South Korea. Gadeokdo is the largest island of Busan. It is connected to the mainland by the Gadeok Bridge and Nulchagyo Bridge. It is connected to Geojedo by the Busan-Geoje Fixed Link.
The new airport is being bu ...
.
Following are the manifestos included in his declaration:
* Building the
new airport (replacing the incumbent
Gimhae International Airport
Gimhae International Airport (), commonly known as Gimhae Airport (formerly Kimhae International Airport) is located on the western end of Busan, South Korea. The name "Gimhae" comes from the nearby city of Gimhae. It opened in 1976. A new in ...
) in Gadeok Island
* Developing West Busan as a rich riverside city with future high-tech industries and cultural infrastructures
* Creating 200,000 of new jobs, including 50,000 of stable jobs
* Redeveloping:
** industrial complexes in
North
North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography.
Etymology
T ...
,
Sasang and
Saha District
Saha District is a '' gu'' in western Busan, South Korea. It has an area of 40.89 km², and a population of about 375,000. About a third of the area is forest land. Saha-gu became a ''gu'' of Busan in 1983. It is home to the Seunghak Campus ...
**
North Port
** 55 Supply Depot and railway sites
He contested with the former Sasang MP and the ex-ambassador to
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
Kwon Chul-hyun and the then North-
Gangseo MP
Park Min-shik
Park Min-shik (born 20 November 1965) is a South Korean politician who currently serves as Minister of Patriots and Veterans Affairs in the Cabinet of Yoon Suk-yeol.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Park, Min-shik
1965 births
Living people
Peopl ...
at the Saenuri
preselection
Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...
. On 3 April, he relinquished his parliamentary membership in order to focus on his campaign. On 30 April, he gained 36.9% and defeated 2 ex-MPs.
Though he led at the beginning, he was expected to lose after the
NPAD candidate
Kim Young-choon abandoned his campaign and endorsed the independent candidate
Oh Keo-don, the former
Minister of Oceans and Fisheries who had ever been run for 2 times before.
On 4 June, he narrowly beat the former Oceans and Fisheries Minister by a margin of approximately 2%.
Mayoralty
Suh was sworn into office on 1 July 2014, approximately a month after the election.
He promised "Citizens First" policies and the "
Nakdong River
The Nakdonggang River or Nakdonggang () is the longest river in South Korea, and passes through major cities such as Daegu and Busan. It takes its name from its role as the eastern border of the Gaya confederacy during Korea's Three Kingdoms Er ...
Era".
Prior to the inauguration, he put a slogan "Happy Citizens, Healthy Busan".
Since before the election, he pledged to build the new airport (replacing the incumbent Gimhae International Airport) in Gadeok Island
and to resign should the manifesto would not be fulfilled. On 21 June 2016, the Government of Park Geun-hye had brought a decision in which they would expand the incumbent Gimhae Airport, instead of replacing it in either Gadeok Island or
Miryang
Miryang (perhaps pronounced as Milbeol using Idu script), formerly also spelled as 推火郡 (probably pronounced as Milbeol or Miribeol using Idu script), Milbeol (密伐) and Milseong (密城), is a city in Gyeongsangnam-do Province, South Ko ...
, recommended by the
ADP Ingénierie. The Government's determination was criticised as "breaking a promise" from the opposition parties, including the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
and the
People's Party,
despite of the reactions from the
Blue House
Cheong Wa Dae ( ko, 청와대; Hanja: ; ), also known as the Blue House, is a public park that formerly served as the executive office and official residence of the president of South Korea from 1948 to 2022. It is located in the Jongno distri ...
. There were earlier prognoses that Suh would stand down for taking responsibilities; in fact, a day before the governmental determination, he ensured "no alternatives except at Gadeok Island". On 27 June, however, he confirmed he would accept the Government's decision and would not step down as Mayor.
On 16 August 2017,
Lotte Corporation
Lotte Corporation (or Lotte Group) is a South Korean multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, and the fifth-largest chaebol in South Korea. Lotte began its history on June 28, 1948, by Kore ...
had donated 100 billion
won (≒ 100 million
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
) to Busan for the Opera House development at North Port.
Suh emphasised that the Opera House would not just be a cultural complex for citizens, but also become a tourist attraction and a new workplaces.
The construction was begun on 22 May 2018.
On 21 September, the Busan City Government announced perhaps they would purchase 100 billion won to build a
landmark
A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances.
In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...
, which is the
Statue of Liberty
The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; French: ''La Liberté éclairant le monde'') is a List of colossal sculpture in situ, colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor in New York City, in the U ...
, as a part of the
North Harbour Redevelopment.
The location was not confirmed yet, but probably nearby
Shinseondae Quay,
Yongdang-dong,
South District.
According to the plan, the construction would begin in 2020 and be completed by 2022.
There were criticisms that whether the city is possible to proceed the project despite of owing too much debts.
The City Government reacted they have not made any decisions yet.
2018 mayoral election
Prior to the
2018 local elections, the
Liberty Korea Party
The Liberty Korea Party () was a conservative political party in South Korea that was described variously as right-wing, right-wing populist, or far-right. Until February 2017, it was known as the Saenuri Party (), and before that as the Hanna ...
(LKP) was agonising over preselection for Busan mayorship. On 16 March 2018, the LKP confirmed the party had nominated Suh as its candidate, instead of holding a preselection.
Lee Jong-hyuk
Lee Jong-hyuk (born July 31, 1974) is a South Korean actor. After more than a decade of leading and supporting roles on stage, film and television, he gained newfound mainstream popularity through the 2012 romantic comedy series
Series may refe ...
, one of potential rival close to the party president
Hong Jun-pyo
Hong Joon-pyo (born 20 November 1953), also spelled as Hong Jun-pyo, is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who is the current Mayor of Daegu. He previous served as the governor of South Gyeongsang Province, a member of the Nationa ...
, announced his departure from the party due to his objection towards the decision.
Lee, then, launched his bid to run as an independent candidate.
On 3 April, the Democratic Party confirmed they would nominate Oh Keo-don, who had unsuccessfully stood 4 years ago, as its candidate.
Therefore, Suh faced the 2nd competition with Oh.
However, according to the opinion polls of Realmeter on 5 May, Suh came far behind to Oh (Oh: 57.7%, Suh: 27.1%). As of June, he failed to narrow the interval between the Democratic candidate. On 13 June, he only received 37.16% and was finally defeated to Oh. The LKP also lost many of its district mayors and metropolitan council members to the Democratic Party.
Post-mayorship
On 5 March 2020, Suh was selected the MP candidate for
Busanjin
Busanjin District is a '' gu'' in central Busan, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North K ...
1st constituency at the
2020 election. Many polls showed neck and neck with the Democratic candidate Kim Young-choon, but Suh successfully defeated Kim.
Shortly after his comeback to the National Assembly, Oh Keo-don resigned as the Mayor of Busan on 23 April following the allegations of sexual harassment has provoked the by-election in 2021. As the incident provoked a
by-election in 2021, Suh became one of the potential candidate to the position, and he also indicated that he was considering to run. Nevertheless, on 21 December, he announced not to contest the election.
Several sources reported that he was backing the former Deputy Mayor
Park Seong-hun at the
PPP preselection,
and on 23 February 2021, he left some positive comments about the former Deputy Mayor.
On the other hand, Park Seong-hun lost to the former MP for
Suyeong Park Hyung-joon
Park Heong-joon (; born 19 January 1960) is a South Korean journalist, educator and politician. He was a former professor of the Sociology Department and Graduate School of International Studies at Dong-a University from 1 September 1991 to 1 ...
, whom Suh criticised as "incapable" to the position, at the PPP preselection on 4 March.
Election results
General elections
Local elections
Mayor of Haeundae
Mayor of
Busan
Busan (), officially known as is South Korea's most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.4 million inhabitants. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economic, cultural and educational center of southeastern South Korea, w ...
References
External links
Suh Byung-sooon
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
Suh Byung-sooon
YouTube
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Suh Byung-sooon
Instagram
Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...
Suh Byung-sooon
Blog
A blog (a truncation of "weblog") is a discussion or informational website published on the World Wide Web consisting of discrete, often informal diary-style text entries (posts). Posts are typically displayed in reverse chronological order ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Suh, Byung-soo
1952 births
Living people
Mayors of Busan
Liberty Korea Party politicians
Sogang University alumni
Northern Illinois University alumni
People from Ulsan