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| Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon declares re-election bid, April 12. / Yonhap |
By Choi Ha-young
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) officially launched its primaries, Wednesday, to select its candidates for mayoral and gubernatorial elections in Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Gwangju.
All candidates will be announced by next Tuesday at the latest, the party said.
At the moment, DPK candidates are expected to win the local elections in those areas, considering the overwhelming support for President Moon Jae-in and the low popularity of the conservative parties.
For the Seoul mayoral election, incumbent Mayor Park Won-soon and Reps. Woo Sang-ho and Park Young-sun threw their hats into the ring. The incumbent mayor has outpaced the race on opinion polls. However, if he fails to get a majority of the votes, the DPK is required to hold a run-off vote from April 23 to 24.
"The run-off vote will inevitably take place," Woo told reporters, Wednesday. "Since negative opinions are rampant among DPK members, Mayor Park is unlikely to gain a majority."
The nomination race for the Gyeonggi gubernatorial election is heated as well. The two major candidates ― former Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung and Rep. Jeon Hae-cheol ― are poised for a battle. Gwangmyeong Mayor Yang Ki-dae is also challenging the candidacy.
While Lee boasts nationwide popularity as a former presidential contender, Rep. Jeon has a solid support base within the DPK for his longtime devotion to President Moon Jae-in.
Jeon has blasted Lee's alleged ethical lapse. In response, Lee emphasized that Jeon's nomination may threaten the DPK's majority in the Assembly. Currently, the DPK has 121 seats, only five seats more than the conservative Liberty Korea Party (LKP).
"If Lee is nominated, the DPK can continue as the largest party. Otherwise, the Assembly will be unable to back up President Moon's reformist drive," said Lee's spokesman Kim Nam-joon.
Three politicians are running for the mayoral election in Gwangju, the traditional heartland for the liberals. They are ― former lawmaker Kang Ki-jung; Lee Yong-sup, former vice chief of the presidential job creation; and Yang Hyang-ja, supreme council member of the DPK. Currently, Lee is more popular than the two others in the polls.
As a result of intraparty competition, the DPK nominated four-term lawmaker Yang Seung-jo for the South Chungcheong gubernatorial election; incumbent governor Lee Si-jong for the North Chungcheong gubernatorial election; incumbent governor Song Ha-jin for the North Jeolla gubernatorial election; former presidential secretary Moon Dae-lim for the Jeju gubernatorial election; Rep. Park Nam-choon for Incheon mayoral election; and Heo Tae-jeong for the Daejeon mayoral election.
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