Suh Byung-soo

Suh Byung-soo (; born 9 January 1952) is a South Korean politician who served as the mayor of Busan from 2014 to 2018. He previously served as the Member of the National Assembly for Haeundae-Gijang A constituency from 2002 to 2014 and the as the mayor of Haeundae from 2000 to 2002.

A member of the conservative People Power Party, Suh was elected the Mayor of Busan on 4 June 2014, defeating the independent candidate Oh Keo-don. In 2018, he ran for re-election but lost to Oh, who ran under the Democratic banner.

Early life Suh Byung-soo was born in 1952, in the town of Daun, Ulsan, South Gyeongsang (now Daun-dong, Central District, Ulsan), to the son of Suh Seok-in (died in 2020), the founder of Woojin Service who had served as the Member of the Busan Metropolican Council from 1991 to 1995 and the Mayor of Haeundae from 1995 to 1998. His mom died in February 1997. He is the eldest among 4 sons and a daughter to the ex-Haeundae Mayor; he is the brother to Suh Ha-soo, Suh Hyun-soo and Suh Bum-soo.

He went to 3 different schools — Yeongdo Primary School, Busan Secondary School and Kyungnam High School. Then, he fled to the United States and received a doctorate in economics from Northern Illinois University In 1990s, he was the CEO of Woojin Service, however, in 2000, some sources reported that he was still serving the position at that time. This time, he was also an adjunct professor at Dong-Pusan College. He succeeded the predecessor Shin Joong-bock, whose election was annulled for violating the election law in 1999. He promised to attract both foreign and private capitals and make the district as a logistic hub for information and tourism.

He resigned on 7 February 2002 in order to run for the MP for Haeundae-Gijang 1st constituency at the by-election called due to the death of Sohn Tae-in. He won with 27,961 votes, defeating the MDP candidate Choi In-ho. In the 2004 election, he again contested with Choi In-ho who ran under the Uri Party banner in this time. Despite coming behind in exit polls, he successfully beat his rival. for this time, he suggested an amendment of the Tax Law and Bank of Korea Act, including tax reduction. He was a potential candidate for the Saenuri parliamentary leader, but some media suggested he could be "nominated" the position under the interim President Park Geun-hye. Known as the "Nominee List", Following are the manifestos included in his declaration: On 3 April, he relinquished his parliamentary membership in order to focus on his campaign. On 30 April, he gained 36.9% and defeated 2 ex-MPs.

Though he led at the beginning, he was expected to lose after the NPAD candidate Kim Young-choon abandoned his campaign and endorsed the independent candidate Oh Keo-don, the former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries who had ever been run for 2 times before. On 4 June, he narrowly beat the former Oceans and Fisheries Minister by a margin of approximately 2%.

Mayoralty Suh was sworn into office on 1 July 2014, approximately a month after the election. He promised "Citizens First" policies and the "Nakdong River Era".

Since before the election, he pledged to build the new airport (replacing the incumbent Gimhae International Airport) in Gadeokdo On 21 June 2016, the Government of Park Geun-hye had brought a decision in which they would expand the incumbent Gimhae Airport, instead of replacing it in either Gadeokdo or Miryang, recommended by the ADP Ingénierie. The Government's determination was criticised as "breaking a promise" from the opposition parties, including the Democratic Party and the People's Party, There were earlier prognoses that Suh would stand down for taking responsibilities; in fact, a day before the governmental determination, he ensured "no alternatives except at Gadeokdo". On 27 June, however, he confirmed he would accept the Government's decision and would not step down as Mayor.

On 16 August 2017, Lotte Corporation had donated 100 billion won (≒ 100 million US$) to Busan for the Opera House development at North Port. Suh emphasised that the Opera House would not just be a cultural complex for citizens, but also become a tourist attraction and a new workplaces.

On 21 September, the Busan City Government announced perhaps they would purchase 100 billion won to build a landmark, which is the Statue of Liberty, as a part of the North Harbour Redevelopment. The location was not confirmed yet, but probably nearby Shinseondae Quay, Yongdang-dong, South District. The City Government reacted they have not made any decisions yet. On 16 March 2018, the LKP confirmed the party had nominated Suh as its candidate, instead of holding a preselection. Lee Jong-hyuk, one of potential rival close to the party president Hong Jun-pyo, announced his departure from the party due to his objection towards the decision. Lee, then, launched his bid to run as an independent candidate. Therefore, Suh faced the 2nd competition with Oh. As of June, he failed to narrow the interval between the Democratic candidate. On 13 June, he only received 37.16% and was finally defeated to Oh. The LKP also lost many of its district mayors and metropolitan council members to the Democratic Party.

Post-mayorship On 5 March 2020, Suh was selected the MP candidate for Busanjin 1st constituency at the 2020 election. Many polls showed neck and neck with the Democratic candidate Kim Young-choon, but Suh successfully defeated Kim.

Shortly after his comeback to the National Assembly, Oh Keo-don resigned as the Mayor of Busan on 23 April following the allegations of sexual harassment has provoked the by-election in 2021. As the incident provoked a by-election in 2021, Suh became one of the potential candidate to the position, and he also indicated that he was considering to run. Nevertheless, on 21 December, he announced not to contest the election. Several sources reported that he was backing the former Deputy Mayor Park Seong-hun at the PPP preselection, and on 23 February 2021, he left some positive comments about the former Deputy Mayor.

On the other hand, Park Seong-hun lost to the former MP for Suyeong Park Hyung-joon, whom Suh criticised as "incapable" to the position, at the PPP preselection on 4 March.

Election results General elections Year Elections Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 2002 2002 By-election Haeundae-Gijang A (Busan) GNP 27,961 (69.60%) Won 2004 17th National Assembly General Election Haeundae-Gijang A (Busan) GNP 71,913 (55.55%) Won 2008 18th National Assembly General Election Haeundae-Gijang A (Busan) GNP 57,968 (64.98%) Won 2012 19th National Assembly General Election Haeundae-Gijang A (Busan) Saenuri 68,136 (55.52%) Won 2020 21st National Assembly General Election Busanjin A (Busan) UFP 52,037 (48.52%) Won 2024 22nd National Assembly General Election Buk A (Busan) PPP 38,850 (46.67%) Defeated

Local elections Mayor of Haeundae Year Elections Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 2000 January 2000 By-election Haeundae(Mayoral Elections) GNP 15,793 (55.70%) Won

Mayor of Busan Year Elections Constituency Political party Votes (%) Remarks 2014 6th Iocal Election Busan(Mayoral Elections) Saenuri 797,926 (50.65%) Won 2018 7th Iocal Election Busan(Mayoral Elections) LKP 632,806 (37.16%) Defeated