Jeong Se-gyun, Song Young-gil, Jeon Hae-cheol, Lee Nak-yeon, and Others Pray for Victory
A crowd gathered around the office of preliminary candidate Kim Jong-sik, causing unexpected congestion at the opening ceremony site. Photo by Choi Jae-kyung
[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seunghyun Jeong] The opening ceremony of Kim Jongsik, the Democratic Party candidate for mayor of Mokpo, Jeonnam, drew an unprecedented crowd, creating a great success.
According to Kim's campaign on the 14th, at 2 p.m. on the same day as the opening ceremony, the area around Formo on Okam-ro was extremely congested with a flood of people and vehicles unable to find parking.
About 5,000 supporters (estimated by Kim's campaign) gathered in the plaza inside Formo and its surroundings, raising the excitement.
Just before the opening ceremony, as Kim toured the plaza and surrounding areas to meet the gathered supporters, the Formo area buzzed with cheers chanting Kim Jongsik's name.
Merchants in Formo responded that this was the first time such a large crowd had gathered since Formo opened.
First, congratulatory videos from former Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun and Seoul mayoral candidate Song Young-gil kicked off the event, followed by support from key figures within the Democratic Party.
Candidate Kim Jong-sik pledges victory in the Mokpo mayoral election in Jeonnam during the June 1 local elections. Photo by Kim Jong-sik's campaign team
Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon mentioned his connection with Kim, saying, “With his capability and drive, he has drawn a big picture for Mokpo’s future in renewable energy, seafood products, and tourism,” and introduced, “Mokpo’s designation as a tourism hub city and cultural city was influenced by Kim’s exceptional wisdom.”
He added, “I believe Kim can do even more for Mokpo in the future. I ask the citizens to make the best choice.”
National Assembly member Jeon Hae-cheol (former Minister of the Interior and Safety) said, “He is an administrative expert who has opened a new path in domestic local government administration. He served as co-chairman of the joint election committee in the last election and will do so again this time to lend his support,” and praised, “Kim significantly raised Mokpo’s status through brand marketing, attracted many public institutions including the Korea Islands Promotion Agency, presented a new vision for Mokpo, and greatly contributed to creating new future growth engines for the city.”
Amid cheers, the main figure Kim Jongsik appeared, praising candidate Kang Seong-hwi for conducting a beautiful primary and gracefully accepting the results, then opened his speech saying, “I will play a small role in creating beautiful and splendid political culture. I hope a clean election culture will take root and local politics will mature.”
Kim also stated, “I was fortunate to meet the Moon Jae-in administration, which allowed me to secure more government budgets than other local heads,” and expressed his determination, “I will continuously raise the value of the Mokpo brand and make future new growth industries the main industries to create 160,000 jobs.”
He continued, “Anyone can be a mayor or county head, but doing well is difficult. Concrete alternatives and policies must be presented. Ethics and morality are basic, but policy planning ability, human and material mobilization capacity to realize them, and strong driving force must all be well equipped,” and asserted, “I am a policy development expert and brand marketing expert who is second to none in work,” pledging victory.
Kim said, “If you make a wise choice, I will devote the rest of my life to the citizens of Mokpo without regret,” and with a firm determination, clenching his fist, he said, “For a splendid Mokpo and its future, I will work hand in hand with city and provincial councilors to proudly fulfill expectations and complete a Mokpo that all Koreans envy.”
At the opening ceremony, metropolitan and basic council candidates dressed in blue appeared en masse, shouting fighting slogans and pledging victory.
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