Photogenic Seoul mayor joins gay campaign

/ Courtesy of Korea Queer Culture Festival

By Lee Ji-hye

A photograph of Seoul city mayor Park Won-soon poking his head out of a colorful cardboard flower was used for an LGBT campaign in central Seoul on Sunday.

Written on the stem held up to his face, were the words: "I am the mayor of Seoul, the city of human rights."

The photo was uploaded to Korea Queer Festival's Facebook page, with many questioning the mayor's soft stance on sexual minorities' human rights in Korea.

"The mayor dropped by and participated in our event," the festival organization team wrote in its post.

"We are currently holding a campaign titled, 'I am me' for Seoul citizens to sign a petition for the right to hold the Korea Queer Festival in City Hall Square in June," the post read.

A netizen commented on the picture, "I wonder what his stance is on LGBT rights ㅡ it seems like he has such a questionable stance."

The Korea Queer Festival is to be held from June 3 to 15 this year, with organizers petitioning to use City Hall Square in central Seoul. The festival was held in Sinchon last year.

Mayor Park had told the San Francisco Examiner, that he hoped Korea would be the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage.

"I hope Korea will be the first," Park was quoted as saying, when asked if Taiwan might be the first Asian country to allow same-sex marriage.

Shortly after, Park released an additional statement saying his stance was somewhat distorted.

"The foreign media article stating that we are pursuing same-sex marriage to be legalized is a distorted report," he said.