The 4·7 Seoul Mayor By-election Kicks Off... The Real Battle Starts Now

Park Young-sun Announces Candidacy · Woo Sang-ho Debate
Ahn Cheol-soo Registers as Candidate
Na Kyung-won & Oh Se-hoon Head to the Field

Park: "Declaration of a Great Transformation for Seoul"
Ahn: "With the Heart of a Frontline Soldier"

Ruling Party to Decide Final Candidate on March 1
Opposition to Hold Four-Person Primary on April 5

Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, who declared his candidacy for the Seoul mayoral by-election, is expressing his thoughts after completing the preliminary candidate registration at the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the 26th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Lee Hyun-joo] The lineup of candidates from both ruling and opposition parties running in the April 7 Seoul mayoral by-election took shape on the 26th. This marks the official start of the election phase. Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party and currently leading in the polls, completed his preliminary candidate registration with the Seoul Election Commission that morning. Park Young-sun, former Minister of SMEs and Startups and a prominent candidate from the ruling party, also officially declared her candidacy on the same day. The first round of screening results, which eliminated half of the 14 preliminary candidates who applied from the People Power Party, were also announced that day.

Upon registering with the Election Commission that morning, Ahn said, “I left home with the heart of a soldier heading to the front line,” adding, “The preliminary candidate registration documents are a declaration of my firm determination to win the election and establish a foothold for regime change, presented to the people.” Former Minister Park chose the Korea Federation of SMEs in Yeouido, Seoul, as the venue for her announcement. She mentioned a “great transformation of Seoul” and expressed her ambition to elevate Seoul to a “G7 global digital economy capital” in the post-COVID-19 era. It is expected that she will emphasize her 16 years of parliamentary experience and 1 year and 9 months of administrative experience as Minister of SMEs and Startups during the upcoming campaign.

On the 26th, Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party running for the Seoul mayoral by-election on April 7, and Park Young-sun, former Minister of SMEs and Startups, attended the 'Gyeonggi-do Basic Housing Forum' held at the Glad Hotel in Yeouido, Seoul, and engaged in conversation. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

Earlier, Rep. Woo Sang-ho, who had already declared his candidacy and was awaiting Park’s entry, announced a series of pledges across various fields including real estate, transportation, and pet care in seven rounds. Woo, who has signaled a policy showdown with opposition candidates, mentioned a real estate policy centered on the supply of 160,000 public housing units the day before and attended the “Gyeonggi Province Basic Housing Forum” hosted by Gyeonggi Province on the day of the report. The Democratic Party plans to accept preliminary candidate registrations from the 27th to the 29th, decide on single-candidate nominations or primaries by region around March 4-5, confirm primary candidates on the 8th, hold primary campaigns from the 9th to the 25th, and finalize the Seoul mayoral by-election candidate on March 1.

The opposition camp’s race for the Seoul mayoral by-election has also officially begun. The People Power Party’s Nomination Management Committee announced the preliminary primary candidates for the Seoul and Busan mayoral by-elections on the same day. The eight confirmed candidates advancing to the Seoul preliminary primary include former lawmakers Na Kyung-won and Oh Shin-hwan, former Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, and Seocho District Mayor Cho Eun-hee. In Busan, six candidates including Professor Park Hyung-joon and former lawmaker Lee Eon-ju made the list. Seoul includes one newcomer who receives a 20% bonus point, while Busan has two newcomers, one of whom is guaranteed inclusion in the main primary through the “newcomer track.” The main primary will feature one-on-one and joint debates consecutively. After public opinion polls, the final nomination candidates will be announced in early March.

Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won, a candidate for the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral primary, visited the SK Bioscience Pangyo headquarters research institute in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 25th and is listening to an explanation from an official. Photo by the National Assembly Press Corps

Among the People Power Party candidates leading in the polls, some are focusing on their own activities regardless of the schedule. These mainly involve visits to sites related to people’s livelihoods. Former lawmaker Na plans to hold a meeting at the Women’s Workforce Development Center in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, to explore measures for women’s employment. Former Mayor Oh is scheduled to visit a taxi company located in Geumcheon-gu that afternoon.