Oh Se-hoon, ex-DPK leader Song Young-gil square off in Seoul mayoral race

Former Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Song Young-gil, left, shakes hands with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon during a Buddha's Birthday event at Jogye Temple in central Seoul, Saturday. Song has been selected as the DPK's candidate for the Seoul mayoral race, competing against incumbent Oh of the People Power Party (PPP). Yonhap

Gyeonggi Governor election rekindles Yoon-Lee rivalry

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Former Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Chairman Song Young-gil has been selected to be the party's candidate for the Seoul mayoral election in the June 1 local elections, competing against incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP).

The DPK and PPP are each vying to win the majority of the June 1 local election races, and the Seoul mayor and Gyeonggi Province governor races are likely the fiercest battlegrounds.

The DPK, which will soon be the majority opposition party, had initially ruled Song out of the list of Seoul mayoral contenders as Song had resigned from the post of party leader post in March after the party's defeat in the presidential election. However, responding to various objections, the committee later allowed Song to run in its internal primary race for the position.

Song, who served as mayor of the port city of Incheon from 2010 to 2014, emphasized that the Seoul mayoral election is not just a competition with Oh, but the results are a litmus test showing the public's opinion toward the Yoon administration.

"The Seoul Mayor election is going to be a match to protect human rights, democracy and property rights of citizens against Yoon Suk-yeol's republic of prosecutors," Song said after winning the party's primary, Friday.

The PPP, which will be the minor ruling party after Yoon's inauguration on May 10, picked incumbent Oh as its Seoul mayor candidate on April 11 and Oh will vie for his fourth win at the post.

Oh served as Seoul mayor from 2006 to 2010, was re-elected in 2010, and then resigned midway through his second term in a clash over his campaign to end free school lunches for all students with the city council. He returned to the post last year after winning the by-election last year in April.

Early poll results favor Oh, and Yoon won the Seoul area in the presidential election by 4.83 percent.

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According to a survey by the Korea Society Opinion Institute, on the request of TBS, conducted on 1,005 voters in Seoul, April 22-23, Oh received 49.7 percent of support over Song's 36.9 percent in a hypothetical race.

However, in the same survey, 47.5 percent answered that they will likely support a PPP candidate for Seoul mayor, in line with the new administration, while 46.9 percent said they should endorse an opposition candidate to keep the Yoon administration in check.

Kim Eun-hye vs. Kim Dong-yeon in Gyeonggi Province

Some are saying that the Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial election is likely to become a proxy war for the presidential election in March.

The DPK nominated former finance minister Kim Dong-yeon as its candidate for Gyeonggi Governor, who is considered to be supported by Lee Jae-myung, as Kim had merged his presidential candidacy to support Lee's.

From the PPP, Kim Eun-hye, a journalist-turned-politician who served as President-elect Yoon's spokesperson, will compete against Kim Dong-yeon.

Gyeonggi Province is the largest local government jurisdiction with a population of 13.9 million and where Yoon lost to Lee by 5.32 percentage points in the presidential election.

If Kim Dong-yeon wins the race, it will reaffirm Lee's presence in Gyeonggi Province and the DPK, while Kim Eun-hye's win will empower Yoon's new administration.

Just like Lee and Yoon's neck-to-neck race, Kim Dong-yeon and Kim Eun-hye are in close competition. A Realmeter survey of 1,010 Gyeonggi voters from April 27-28 showed Kim Eun-hye receiving 43.9 percent of support over Kim Dong-yeon's 43.3 percent, within the margin of error.

Another poll by People Networks Research conducted on 804 voters from April 23-24 showed former minister Kim Dong-yeon winning over former spokesperson Kim Eun-hye, 48.8 percent to 41 percent.

The Gyeongsang region is traditionally the PPP's stronghold. In Busan, incumbent mayor Park Hyeong-joon of the PPP will compete with former acting Busan Mayor Byun Seong-wan of the DPK.

Former presidential candidate Hong Joon-pyo has been nominated as the PPP's mayoral candidate for Daegu, while the DPK named Seo Jae-heon, formerly a deputy spokesperson for the party, to vie for the Daegu mayor post.

On the other hand, the DPK shows strength in the Jeolla region. Kang Ki-jung, a former senior presidential secretary for political affairs, will run for Gwangju mayor on behalf of the DPK, while former prosecutor Joo Ki-hwan has been picked as the PPP's candidate for Gwangju.

Further details of the election polls are available on the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.