Democrats: "Not Excluding Existing Candidates Like Song Young-gil"
Former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil (left), former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon, former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun. /Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] The Democratic Party of Korea has announced that it will strategically nominate a candidate for the Seoul mayoral election in the upcoming June 1 local elections, with former party leader Lee Nak-yeon and Jeong Se-gyun, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, being mentioned as potential strategic candidates.
On the 13th, Yoon Ho-jung, co-chairman of the Emergency Response Committee, stated at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the Daejeon City Party Office, "We will strategically nominate a candidate for the Seoul mayor." Additionally, among the heads of basic local governments, Gangneung and Chuncheon in Gangwon Province, and Seo-gu in Daejeon were selected as strategic electoral districts. This is the first time the party leadership has announced Seoul as a strategic nomination area.
This move appears to reflect the party's internal opinion that it would be difficult to defeat the current mayor Oh Se-hoon of the People Power Party through competition among existing preliminary candidates, including former leader Song Young-gil, amid ongoing controversies surrounding Song's candidacy for Seoul mayor.
However, the Democratic Party maintains that those who have already expressed their intention to run, such as Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ju-min and former lawmakers Jeong Bong-ju and Kim Jin-ae, are still included in the pool of strategic nomination candidates.
With the Democratic Party announcing its strategic nomination policy, the possibility of strategic nominations for prominent political figures classified as candidates has also opened up. The most likely candidate mentioned is former leader Lee Nak-yeon. In the last presidential primary, Lee was a strong contender, competing closely with then-candidate Lee Jae-myung until the final stages, demonstrating a solid position within the party and a strong support base.
Moreover, the possibility of strategic nominations for new figures such as Chairman Jeong and former Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa cannot be ruled out. If new figures like former leader Lee are included among the strategic candidates, competition with preliminary candidates who have already declared their intention to run is expected to be inevitable.
Within the party, there is speculation that if Senior Adviser Lee Jae-myung steps forward to request former leader Lee Nak-yeon to run as the Seoul mayoral candidate, Lee Nak-yeon might enter the race. Currently, Lee Nak-yeon has announced plans to study inter-Korean relations for one year at the Korean Studies Institute of George Washington University after the June local elections and is preparing to go to the United States.
Meanwhile, the possibility of nominations for existing preliminary candidates such as former leader Song Young-gil remains. On the same day, after visiting the Seoul-Gyeonggi Regional Headquarters of the Cargo Solidarity in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province, Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-geun told reporters, "This is not a strategic nomination to exclude former leader Song, but rather a more open approach to judgment, rather than the previous primary method or screening among those who have registered as candidates."
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