Park Young-sun "No Other Choice"... Officially Announces Candidacy for Seoul Mayor

Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun is greeting virtual participants at the New Year's meeting of small and medium-sized business owners held on the afternoon of the 19th at the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Park Young-sun, Minister of SMEs and Startups, virtually confirmed her candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election on the 19th, stating, "There is no other choice."

Minister Park appeared on 'SBS 8 News' in the afternoon and said, "Originally, there were many pending issues at the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, so I thought about it a lot in various ways," adding, "Now the situation has become quite serious, so I think there is no other choice for the party."

Regarding reports that she had expressed her intention to resign from her ministerial post, she explained, "That is not true," and "I have not yet expressed my intention to resign."

When asked about reports of a cabinet reshuffle scheduled for the 20th, she avoided a direct answer, saying, "Personnel matters are the responsibility of the president and the appointing authority."

On the candidates' lineup for the Seoul mayoral by-election, Minister Park said, "Rather than a struggle for power, I think discussing the future of Seoul is much more necessary for Seoul citizens," adding, "Seoul is at a very important time to become a global leading city in the digital era, so I hope much emphasis will be placed on that."

When asked whether the Seoul mayoral by-election would be held as a one-on-one or multi-candidate contest, she said, "From the perspective of our Democratic Party, we think it is right to prepare for the election as a one-on-one contest."