The Green Party has produced a municipal councilor for the first time in 13 years since its founding. The winner is Heo Seung-gyu (37), who secured victory on his third attempt in Andong City District Ma in North Gyeongsang, a ‘conservative stronghold’.

In the June 3 local elections, Heo took first place with 36.86% in Andong City District Ma (two seats), where five candidates ran. There had been instances in which someone was elected as an independent and later joined the Green Party (former Gumi City Council member Kim Su-min), but this is the first time since its founding in 2012 that a candidate ran under the Green Party banner and was chosen by voters.

Heo is a young politician and an ‘Andong native’. He attended college in Seoul, where he turned to grassroots activism, and returned to his hometown to enter politics. In the 2018 7th local elections, he performed well, taking 16%, enough to have his campaign expenses reimbursed. In the 2022 elections, he received 18% and outpolled the Democratic Party candidate, but narrowly lost by 329 votes. This was his third attempt.

Steady local activity is cited as the background to his victory. Heo engaged with residents through participation in the resident autonomy council·the community social security council·a voluntary crime-prevention unit, and during the wildfires in North Gyeongsang last year, he built trust by joining the countermeasures committee for affected residents and providing on-site support.

He is currently also taking part in the Committee for Support and Reconstruction for Ultra-Large Wildfire Damage under the Prime Minister. Over eight years, he has collected about 3,000 phone numbers of voters by pounding the pavement. That is close to one-third of the roughly 10,000 voters in the area.

Heo said, “Thank you to the citizens who voted for better change in Gangnam·Namseon·Imha and for a better tomorrow for Andong”, and added, “I will stay true to my original intent and repay with good politics”.

He continued, “I will personally put into practice council work done together by communicating with diverse residents, from seniors and office workers to parents and teenagers”, and said, “In the era of the climate crisis, I hope green politics in Korea will rise again, starting with the election of a Green Party Andong City Council member”.