Kookmin University (President Jung Seung-ryul) hosted Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon as the speaker for the 635th Kookmin University Thursday Lecture on Thursday, November 14, at the Kookmin University Academic Conference Center. Mayor Oh spoke about Seoul's slogan and future vision for the eighth democratic administration, “Seoul, a Special City of Accompaniment and Charm,” and its policies for a win-win city that “accompanies” the weak and “charms” the strong.

“Seoul's prosperity has been achieved through the collection of small and large achievements of ordinary citizens,” Mayor Oh said, adding, ”Competition is the key to prosperity, and in order to compete properly, we must proactively accompany the weak.”

Mayor Oh cited ▲ Stepping Stone Income to help people get out of poverty through work ▲ Seoul Run to foster future talent by providing a non-discriminatory educational environment as representative programs that Seoul is implementing for 'accompaniment'. In addition, he gave a detailed lecture on large and small projects that showcase the city's philosophy, such as the Dongdaeng Restaurant, which provides a hearty meal to the poor, and the Humanities of Hope, which teaches people how to dream again.

“Since the growth engine of universities has a positive impact on Seoul's urban competitiveness, Mayor Oh told the students that he is very interested in universities and youth policies, such as greatly applying floor area ratio incentives to universities when they open cutting-edge departments, and providing various online and offline education such as customized financial planning and credit management counseling to support young people's successful financial management,” he said.

He also emphasized the importance of “attractiveness,” which is another competitive advantage of Seoul. “We are continuously improving our global financial competitiveness and planning various events aimed at attracting 30 million tourists to Seoul,” Oh said. “We will spare no effort to achieve our goal of becoming one of the top five global cities from the current seventh place in the world,” Mayor Oh said, emphasizing his ambition to continue to communicate and develop with Seoul residents, just like the vision of Seoul when hearts come together.

Kookmin University, the first and longest-running university in Korea to host weekly lectures by outside speakers, has hosted about 650 speakers from all walks of life in politics, society, science, culture and the arts over the past 30 years, including the late President Roh Moo-hyun, the late Cardinal Kim Soo-hwan, author Yoo Min-sin, filmmaker Park Chan-wook, National Assembly Speaker Jeong Se-gyun, and U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert.