18 People Confirmed as People Power Party Seoul District Mayor Candidates... Seongdong Kang Maenghun, Gwangjin Kim Kyungho, Songpa Seo Gangseok (Comprehensive)

On June 1st, People Power Party confirms first round of 18 Seoul district mayor candidates including Jongno Jeong Munheon, Junggu Kim Gilsung, Yongsan Park Heeyoung, Seongdong Kang Maenghun, Gwangjin Kim Kyungho, Dongdaemun Lee Pilhyung, Seongbuk Jeong Taegun, Gangbuk Lee Seonghee, Dobong Oh Eunseok, Nowon Im Jaehyuk, Eunpyeong Hong Injeong, Seodaemun Lee Seongheon, Mapo Kim Jincheon, Yangcheon Lee Gijae, Geumcheon Oh Bongsu, Dongjak Park Ilha, Gwanak Lee Haengja, Songpa Seo Gangseok... 7 candidates for Jungnang, Gangseo, Guro, Yeongdeungpo, Seocho, Gangnam, Gangdong districts yet to be confirmed

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The People Power Party has confirmed 18 candidates for the district mayor positions in Seoul for the 8th term of direct elections to be held on June 1.

On the afternoon of the 1st, the People Power Party announced the first round of confirmed candidates for the June 1 Seoul district mayor elections: Jeong Moon-heon for Jongno, Kim Gil-seong for Jung, Park Hee-young for Yongsan, Kang Maeng-hoon for Seongdong, Kim Kyung-ho for Gwangjin, Lee Pil-hyung for Dongdaemun, Jeong Tae-geun for Seongbuk, Lee Seong-hee for Gangbuk, Oh Eon-seok for Dobong, Lim Jae-hyeok for Nowon, Hong In-jeong for Eunpyeong, Lee Seong-heon for Seodaemun, Kim Jin-cheon for Mapo, Lee Ki-jae for Yangcheon, Oh Bong-su for Geumcheon, Park Il-ha for Dongjak, Lee Haeng-ja for Gwanak, and Seo Gang-seok for Songpa.

Accordingly, seven candidates for Jungnang, Gangseo, Guro, Yeongdeungpo, Seocho, Gangnam, and Gangdong districts have yet to be confirmed and are expected to be decided within the next two to three days.

The People Power Party Seoul City Chapter announced the top candidate through a public opinion poll conducted from April 29 to 30, consisting of 50% responsible party members plus 50% residents or 100% residents.

Three former members of the National Assembly?Jeong Moon-heon for Jongno, Jeong Tae-geun for Seongbuk, and Lee Seong-heon for Seodaemun?will be running in the main election.

Additionally, former high-ranking Seoul city officials who passed the administrative examination?Kang Maeng-hoon for Seongdong, Kim Kyung-ho for Gwangjin, and Seo Gang-seok for Songpa?were selected as candidates.

◆Evaluation of Competitive Candidates Including Former National Assembly Members, High-ranking Seoul City Officials, and Local Politicians such as City and District Council Members

The candidates announced on this day consist of three former National Assembly members, three former high-ranking Seoul city officials, and former city and district council members, which is expected to be evaluated as a selection of generally competitive candidates.

In particular, the People Power Party has consecutively lost Seoul district mayor elections for 12 years since the 5th term of direct elections in 2010, making it difficult to find competitive candidates.

Therefore, efforts can be seen to find a candidate group that is not inferior in terms of personnel compared to current Democratic Party candidates, focusing on former National Assembly members and high-ranking Seoul city officials.

◆Outline of 1:1 Matchups Between People Power Party and Democratic Party Candidates Emerges

With the announcement of the People Power Party Seoul district mayor candidates, the 1:1 candidate matchups with the Democratic Party have become clear.

In Jongno, Jeong Moon-heon, a two-term National Assembly member from Gangwon, is running while the Democratic Party is holding a three-person primary.

In Jung, Kim Gil-seong, a former aide to 20th National Assembly member Ji Sang-wook and former director of the Seoul City Council Secretariat, defeated Lee Chang-hak and will face the current Democratic Party district mayor Seo Yang-ho in the main election. Kim graduated from elementary, middle, and high schools in Jung district and served as an aide to the Jung district National Assembly member, making him essentially a native of Jung district.

On the other hand, Mayor Seo, who has served as Jung district mayor since 2018 and has built recognition as a local worker over four years, will compete closely, but the People Power Party's victory in the last presidential election is seen as somewhat advantageous.

In Yongsan district, with the relocation of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s office marking the start of the Yongsan era, Park Hee-young, a two-term Yongsan district council member known as a close aide to candidate Kwon Young-se, Minister of Unification and a key figure in the administration, was confirmed as the candidate and will face Democratic Party council member Kim Cheol-sik in the runoff.

However, except for current Mayor Seong Hyeon, Yongsan is a region favorable to conservative candidates including National Assembly members and district mayors, so the election results are attracting attention.

In Seongdong district, Kang Maeng-hoon, a Hanyang University alumnus who passed the technical civil service exam and served as Seoul City Urban Regeneration Director (Grade 1), was confirmed as the candidate and is expected to have a big match against Democratic Party incumbent Mayor Jeong Won-oh, who is seeking a third term. However, as the so-called 'Ma-Yong-Seong' area along the Han River has high housing prices and the People Power Party candidate won by about 20,000 votes (10%) in the last presidential election, even well-regarded Mayor Jeong is expected to face a tough fight.

In Gwangjin district, Mayor Oh Se-hoon recruited his successor as the Gwangjin E district committee head, Kim Kyung-ho, a former administrative examination pass and former deputy mayor of Gwangjin district, Seoul City Council Secretariat Director (Grade 1), and president of Seoul Agricultural and Marine Products Corporation, as the candidate. Kim will face the Democratic Party incumbent Mayor Kim Seon-gap and the candidate confirmed through a primary against former Blue House administrative officer Jo Hyung-guk in the main election.

In Dongdaemun district, former Blue House administrative officer Lee Pil-hyung was confirmed as the candidate. In Seongbuk district, Jeong Tae-geun, who served as political deputy mayor during Mayor Lee Myung-bak’s tenure and as a National Assembly member, was confirmed. The Democratic Party is holding a primary between current Mayor Lee Seung-ro and former Seongbuk deputy mayor Kim Byung-hwan.

In Gangbuk district, former Seoul city council member Lee Seong-hee was confirmed as the candidate and will face the winner between Democratic Party city council member Choi Seon and candidate Lee Seon-hee in the main election.

In Dobong district, Oh Eon-seok, former aide to former National Assembly member Kim Seon-dong, was confirmed as the candidate. Oh will compete against the winner between Democratic Party Seoul city council member Kim Yong-seok and former city council member Kim Dong-wook.

In Nowon district, Lim Jae-hyeok, former three-term vice chairman of Nowon district council and candidate for Nowon district mayor in the 7th term, was confirmed and will have a rematch with Democratic Party incumbent Mayor Oh Seung-rok for the 8th term.

In Eunpyeong district, Hong In-jeong, a former Blue House administrative officer and chairperson of the People Power Party Eunpyeong Gap district committee, was confirmed and will face Democratic Party incumbent Mayor Kim Mi-kyung in a 'female district mayor' showdown.

In Seodaemun district, Lee Seong-heon, a two-term National Assembly member and influential figure during the Park Geun-hye administration, was confirmed as the candidate. In Mapo district, Kim Jin-cheon, a former National Assembly aide and district council member, was confirmed. In Yangcheon district, Lee Ki-jae, a former Blue House administrative officer, was confirmed. In Geumcheon district, Oh Bong-su, former Seoul city council member, was confirmed. In Dongjak district, Park Il-ha, former director of Wonju Regional Land Management Office, was confirmed. In Gwanak district, Lee Haeng-ja, former city council member, was confirmed. In Songpa district, Seo Gang-seok, former director of Seoul Human Resources Development Institute, was confirmed.

In Yangcheon district, People Power Party candidate Lee Ki-jae will face Democratic Party incumbent Mayor Kim Soo-young, who is seeking a third term.

In Songpa district, Seo Gang-seok was confirmed and will compete against Democratic Party incumbent Mayor Park Seong-su.

In Gwanak district, Democratic Party former Seoul city council member Lee Haeng-ja was confirmed as the candidate and will have a 'male vs. female district mayor candidate' contest against current Democratic Party Mayor Park Jun-hee.

Thus, the People Power Party has yet to confirm candidates for Jungnang district, where former district mayor Ra Jin-gu is running again, as well as Gangseo, Guro, Yeongdeungpo, Seocho, Gangnam, and Gangdong districts.

In particular, in Gangnam and Seocho districts, the candidate selection has been delayed due to a stalemate between those advocating for a primary and those supporting a single candidate.