New York Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani. Yonhap News
On the 4th (local time), when New York State Representative Zoran Mamdani (34) was elected mayor of New York, Seoul, about 11,000 km away from New York, was also shaken. As news of Mamdani, a progressive politician in his 30s and an Indian Muslim, was elected, a marketing boom for the ‘second Mamdani’ arose among ruling party figures preparing for next year’s local elections.
The person who sent the most enthusiastic congratulations was the ruling party candidate for Seoul mayor. Park Joo-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, who made her candidacy for mayor of Seoul official early last month, wrote on Facebook on the 5th, “The news of Candidate Mamdani’s election makes me think a lot. Seoul can change too. No, it must change.”
Democratic Party lawmaker Park Hong-geun, another Seoul mayoral candidate, pointed out, “Seoul is also experiencing similar problems as New York,” adding, “Housing prices and jeonse rents have risen to the point where they are rising, and monthly rents are exceeding the level that can be afforded.” At the same time, borrowing from Mamdani’s election campaign ‘Affordable New York‘, he said, “I believe that just as the citizens of New York did, they will choose a new mayor who will create an ‘affordable Seoul’ in next year’s local elections.”
Former Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin, who is considering running for mayor of Seoul, shared an article about Mamdani’s election on Facebook, saying, “Wow. My heart is still racing at this news.” Han Joon-ho, a top member of the Democratic Party who is known to be preparing to run for governor of Gyeonggi Province, mentioned his recent transit through New York and said, “I am honored to be able to celebrate candidate Mamdani’s election under the same sky for a moment.”
Cho Kuk, former emergency response committee chairman of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, posted a post about New York City Mayor Mandani (34) on Facebook on the 7th.
Cho Kuk, former emergency response committee chairman of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, advertised the Innovation Party’s real estate policy by posting Mamdani’s photo and his own photo side by side. On the 12th, he wrote, “The emergence of a ‘Korean version of Mamdani’ is possible only when there are institutional improvements that enable plural democracy.”
It is Mamdani’s dramatic narrative that brought about the ‘Mamdani marketing’ craze in the passport. Mamdani, a nearly unknown local politician, defeated former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, a political heavyweight, in the New York mayoral primary in June. Even considering that Cuomo was in trouble due to allegations of sexual harassment, Mamdani’s turnaround was a drama.
Park Joo-min, chairman of the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee, is speaking at the National Assembly Health and Welfare Committee audit held at the National Pension Service on the 24th of last month. Yonhap News
For most of the Democratic Party’s candidates, who are inferior to Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Mamdani’s path is seen as hope in itself. One ruling party candidate for Seoul governor said, “The Mamdani craze is just beginning. It will provide more inspiration in the future.”
However, some point out that their interest in Mamdani is limited to consuming only the image of a ‘successful non-mainstream’ person. Mamdani made promises targeting the working class, such as freezing public rents, additional taxation of businessmen and the wealthy, and raising the minimum wage, and secured support from all races and youth.
In relation to this, Choi Byeong-cheon, director of the New Growth Economy Research Institute, said, “Mamdani was not elected mayor of New York because of prosecutorial reform. The biggest thing the Democratic Party can learn from Mamdani is that it should prioritize people’s livelihood issues,” and added, “It is questionable whether the ruling party candidates who criticize Mayor Oh have a solution to people’s livelihood that can compete with him.”
A former Democratic Party lawmaker also said, “New Yorkers didn’t vote for Mamdani because they thought he would be able to realize all of his promises. They voted for Mamdani because they thought he knew what New Yorkers need. But I don’t know if the Democratic Party figures (referring to Mamdani) are aware of this point.”
Reporter Jo Soo-bin jo.subin@joongang.co.kr
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Jo Soo-bin jo.subin@joongang.co.kr
