A New Mayor for Seoul    [04-11-2011] There was a big smile on Park Won-sun’s face last week. It was a long battle between two major candidates. Finally on voting day on October 26, decisions were made to pick the new mayor of Seoul. Park Won-sun is a lawyer-turned-civic activist. The 55-year-old politician represented many civic groups in the past and he worked hard for the working class. Many believed that Park would have a hard time winning the mayor’s seat. It was because he had to compete with another strong candidate named Na Kyung-won. She was a judge-turned-politician from the governing Grand National Party (GNP)한나라당. The turnout was something not many expected. Na won 46.2 percent of the votes compared to 53.4 percent for Park. Park’s election campaign received a lot of help from his good friend. Ahn Cheol-soo, a software-genius and CEO, openly backed Park. The liberal lawyer’s victory is largely owed to Ahn because he holds a great image with the public. Ahn’s presence in his campaign attracted many votes. Park’s competitor Na received support from GNP Chairwoman Park Geun-hye throughout the campaign. Park’s victory will be changing the political trend in the country. For many years, the Grand National Party had control of important positions in the government. Now with Park’s victory it will be an opportunity for civic groups to have a bigger say in politics. Although Na had failed to be elected she said, “I will take the time to look back and reflect upon myself. I hope the newly-elected mayor will become a great leader for the future of Seoul.” It was in late August this year when former Mayor Oh Se-hoon voluntarily stepped down. After losing the first ever referendum on the free-lunch program, Oh decided to leave politics. The city has chosen Park Won-sun to lead the nation’s capital. Let’s hope his experience and knowledge will turn Seoul into a wonderful city. A new chapter has opened for Seoul. A new government, new policies and a new leader will guide the city. We should all send a big applause to both candidates, Park Won-sun and Na Kyung-won for their fair and competitive campaign.     출처: 어린이 영자신문 키즈타임즈 (www.kidstimes.net)