Decision on Candidate Unification... Final Candidate Announcement on the 24th
"A Person with Competitiveness and Morality Needed to Win the Main Election"
[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Lee Eon-ju and Park Min-sik, candidates in the People Power Party primary for the April 7 Busan mayoral by-election, have decided to unify their candidacies.
On the 22nd, the two candidates announced at a press conference held in the briefing room of the Busan Metropolitan City Council, “We have agreed to unify our candidacies at the preliminary primary stage.” They added, “For the People Power Party candidate to secure a sure victory, a clean figure with competitiveness and morality capable of winning the general election, as well as someone who can bring generational change, is necessary. We share the view that the unification should be of a candidate who can judge the Moon Jae-in administration in next year’s presidential election and complete the regime change.”
This unification appears to be a strategy considering Park Hyung-joon, who is leading in various recent opinion polls. Candidate Lee Eon-ju pointed out in a phone interview with Asia Economy on the same day, “Park Hyung-joon has too many weaknesses that could be exploited due to various suspicions, raising doubts about his competitiveness in the general election,” and added, “We have nothing major to be criticized for.”
He also said, “Most of the people supporting Park Hyung-joon are from the 60s and 70s generation,” and “Through unification, we can rally the younger support base.” Candidate Park Min-sik also expressed confidence, saying, “Leadership change is the biggest justification,” and “I believe we will receive support from the 40s and 50s conservative supporters.”
The final unified candidate will be announced on the 24th after a public opinion poll targeting citizens on the 23rd. On that day, the two candidates stated, “The person who receives more support based on the poll results will become the unified candidate,” and “We plan to complete the unification process before the joint debate on the 25th.”
They also emphasized, “The unified preliminary candidate must do their best to ensure the People Power Party’s victory in the Busan mayoral by-election,” and “The eliminated preliminary candidate will make every effort to help the unified preliminary candidate win the People Power Party primary for Busan mayor.”
Earlier, Park Seong-hoon, a primary candidate who was mentioned as a target for ‘three-way unification’ by the two candidates, reportedly did not express willingness to participate in the unification with them. After the announcement of the agreement, candidate Park Min-sik said, “I previously proposed a step-by-step unification,” and “I look forward to first unifying with candidate Lee Eon-ju and then hopefully achieving additional unification with candidate Park Seong-hoon.”
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