2026 동해시장 선거: 최재석 후보의 5대 핵심 공약 공개!

Choi Jae-seok, a Gangwon Provincial Councilor and the People Power Party’s candidate for Donghae mayor, opened his campaign office in Cheongok-dong, Donghae City, on the afternoon of April 4 and formally launched his campaign.
 
About 500 people attended the event, including National Assemblyman Lee Cheol-gyu, Kim Si-seong, other regional leaders, and supporters.
 
Choi Jae-seok campaigned under the slogan “Donghae Mayor! I’ll do it right,” and emphasized that, drawing on his experience as a journalist and local lawmaker, he would be a mayor who turns change into action. “For 32 years I worked as a broadcast journalist holding power to account and amplifying citizens’ voices. As a city and provincial councilor, I used policy to improve people’s lives. Now I will be a mayor who implements the changes that must be made,” he said.
 
He highlighted structural challenges facing Donghae—weak fiscal independence and a budget that is unbalanced relative to population—and pledged to open an era of a 1 trillion KRW (approximately $750 million) budget by transforming the city into a mixed-use urban center.
 
He laid out five core pledges: promote a mixed urban-rural city; develop the port economy to prepare for Arctic shipping routes; build a hydrogen-centered future industry; protect existing industries while facilitating their shift to advanced sectors; and pursue a two-track tourism strategy.
He also described plans to create quality jobs by leveraging Donghae Port’s geographic advantage to establish a northern logistics forward base and a hydrogen storage-and-transport cluster.
 
He pledged to ease corporate burdens through differentiated electricity pricing and expanded power usage, and to create special zones for AI and data centers to accelerate industrial restructuring. In tourism, he said he would expand multi-night, stay-focused tourism around attractions such as Mureung Byeol Yucheonji and the Mangsang Free Economic Zone.
 
Choi cited his record as a former Donghae city councilor—his response to allegations of preferential treatment in the Mangsang Free Economic Zone and his efforts to improve the business environment—and insisted, “I did not compromise when it came to protecting Donghae’s future.”
 
Finally, he said, “As a neighbor who has lived in Donghae my whole life, I will revive jobs and the local economy,” adding, “I will be a mayor who finds answers on the ground and works side by side with citizens.”