[The Opening of the June 1 Local Elections⑥] Hot Ulsan in the Distinctive PK, Calm Busan and Gyeongnam

Editor's NoteFollowing the narrow victory of the People Power Party in the presidential election, the race for local government heads (local elections) has immediately begun. This year marks the 8th local elections, with candidates from both ruling and opposition parties announcing their bids. Both sides are desperate to win this election. The People Power Party, victorious in the presidential election, is determined to secure the momentum for the newly launched Yoon Seok-yeol administration despite the limitation of a minority in the National Assembly. The Democratic Party also sees winning the local elections as essential to regain public support after the shock of their presidential defeat. Especially since the Democratic Party won 14 out of 17 metropolitan government seats in the last local elections, there is a strong sense of crisis that they must not lose ground. Asia Economy examines the metropolitan government head race and candidate lineups in a seven-part series as the local elections kick off.

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee, Hyunji Kwon] The atmosphere surrounding the June 1 local elections in Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam (PK) shows distinct differences by region. According to the Central Election Commission, only one preliminary candidate each has officially registered for Busan mayor and Gyeongnam governor, but the Ulsan mayoral race is already heating up with multiple preliminary candidates competing.

In the Democratic Party, the re-election bid of current Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho is almost certain, while Ulsan City Council member Jang Yun-ho has declared his candidacy. On the People Power Party side, the preliminary contest is heating up with heavyweight non-incumbent figures as well as current members of the National Assembly joining the race. The People Power Party has seen candidates such as Assemblymen Seo Beom-su and Lee Chae-ik making their candidacies visible, along with former Ulsan Nam-gu Mayor Kim Du-gyeom, former Assemblyman Park Dae-dong, former Ulsan Mayor Park Maeng-woo, former National Assembly Deputy Speaker Jeong Gap-yoon, and former Ulsan Deputy Mayor Heo Eon-uk all expressing their intention to run.

The large influx of People Power Party candidates for the Ulsan mayoral seat is related to allegations that the Blue House interfered in the 2018 local elections in Ulsan, which led to Mayor Song being indicted and currently on trial. Regardless of whether the trial results come out before the election, the People Power Party sees this as a card to shake the Democratic Party during the election phase, which could be advantageous.

Lee Chae-ik, Seo Beom-su, Jeong Gap-yoon, and others
People Power Party candidates flood the race
Busan and Gyeongnam have only one registered candidate each from Democratic and People Power Parties

On the other hand, the enthusiasm for the Busan mayoral race, which was fierce in last year's April 7 by-election, has somewhat cooled. With Mayor Park Hyung-joon likely to seek re-election, the Democratic Party has struggled to find a suitable candidate. This is largely due to former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Kim Young-choon, who ran for Busan mayor in last year's by-election, announcing his retirement from politics. The Democratic Party considered former Assemblyman Kim Hae-young and former Food and Drug Safety Commissioner Ryu Young-jin, but all declined to run, leaving only former Acting Mayor Byun Sung-wan, who led Busan during the sexual harassment scandal involving former Mayor Oh Geo-don, to declare his candidacy.

Within the People Power Party, Mayor Park's bid for a second term is almost certain. It is reported that five-term Assemblyman Seo Byung-soo, Assemblyman Jo Kyung-tae, and three-term Assemblyman Lee Heon-seung have all declined to run. However, since Mayor Park is currently on trial for alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act, this could become a variable in the future. Accordingly, the Busan mayoral race is expected to be a showdown between Mayor Park and former Acting Mayor Byun.

The Gyeongnam governor seat, which has alternated between the People Power Party and the Democratic Party in the order of Kim Tae-ho → Kim Du-kwan → Hong Jun-pyo → Kim Kyung-soo, seems to be leaning toward the People Power Party this time. Re-elected Assemblyman Park Wan-soo officially declared his candidacy last month at the Gyeongnam Provincial Office plaza with the slogan "Clear from the Start." Prior to that, on the 15th of last month, former Minister of Oceans and Fisheries Lee Ju-young registered as an official preliminary candidate with the Election Commission. Other current Assemblymen such as Park Dae-chul, Yoon Young-seok, Yoon Han-hong, and Jo Hae-jin are also mentioned as potential candidates.

On the Democratic Party side, Yang Moon-seok, the regional chairman for Tongyeong-Goseong, resigned from his position to make his first bid for the Gyeongnam governor seat.