“At that moment, I truly thought I had lost. I gathered my family and said, ‘It seems I won’t make it this time. I will let everything go,’” said Kim Myung-jin, a councilor in Hwacheon, Gangwon Province, reflecting on the vote count from the June 3 local elections.
On the afternoon of September 27, during the Chuseok holiday, Kim recalled the moments of the vote count at a restaurant run by his wife in the Saneum area of Hwacheon. He had accepted the possibility of defeat in front of his family, only to later achieve a surprising victory.
According to Kim, it was around 12:30 a.m. on the day after the vote count when he was preparing to apologize to residents for not campaigning effectively and mentioned to his family that he would take a short trip. Shortly after, his son entered the room.
“My son said, ‘Dad, something’s strange. The votes keep going up,’” Kim recalled. Initially, he thought it was unlikely, but the votes continued to increase.
“When the votes weren’t coming in, the past four years flashed before my eyes,” he said. Even after his victory was confirmed, he felt more concern about how to spend the next four years than joy.
For Kim, the residents of Saneum are not just the voters he met during the election. He reflected on how he had almost nothing when he first settled in Saneum and remembered the support he received from residents who visited his family’s restaurant.
“If the residents hadn’t supported my family’s restaurant, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” he said.
Kim views his reelection as a responsibility to work for all residents. He has set aside any grievances from the election process and stated he will listen to the concerns of residents, regardless of their support.
“I cannot know who supported me and who did not. Therefore, I must treat all residents equally and work for them,” he said.
He cited the Hwangtok Road in Saneum as an example of a space that residents can utilize. He believes there is a need for walking paths for residents who do not play park golf.
According to Kim, he proposed the creation of the Hwangtok Road to Kim Se-hoon, the Hwacheon County Mayor, and in July, 300 million won was allocated for the project in the second supplementary budget. While he anticipates the location to be near the park golf course in Saneum, specific details about the site and construction timeline have yet to be determined.
He emphasized the need to prepare for the future of Saneum following the opening of the Gwangdeok Tunnel. He believes it is essential not only to alleviate the long-standing traffic inconveniences faced by residents but also to improve tourism and living conditions.
“We need to connect the Gwangdeok Tunnel, walking paths, and tourism resources like the Samil Valley to create a region that attracts visitors and encourages them to stay,” he said.
Kim also identified reducing the burden on farmers as a key issue for his legislative activities. He stated that the council and the executive branch must work together to address rising agricultural material costs and expand local consumption and external markets for rice and agricultural products produced in Hwacheon.
He stressed that it is more important to implement what residents need than to focus on who proposed policies first. He expressed his intention to start the next four years with the same mindset as when he was first elected.
“What matters more than the title of reelection is that the residents have given me another opportunity to work. I will continue to run with the same enthusiasm I had when I first reached out to the residents,” he said.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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