Official Election Campaign Begins on the 19th
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] The Progressive Party announced that its 178 candidates running in the June 1 local elections will officially begin their election campaigns on the 19th. The Progressive Party aims to advance as a national and alternative party by winning at least one basic local government head position and securing 16 metropolitan and provincial assembly seats in this election.
In this election, three candidates are running for metropolitan government heads: Song Young-joo (Gyeonggi Province Governor), Kim Joo-eop (Gwangju Mayor), and Min Jeom-gi (Jeonnam Province Governor), along with two candidates for basic local government heads: Kim Jong-hoon (Ulsan Dong-gu District Mayor) and Jang Ji-hwa (Seongnam Mayor).
Notably, candidate Kim Jong-hoon for Ulsan Dong-gu District Mayor plans to hold a campaign kickoff rally on the 19th at Hyundai Heavy Industries Jeonha Gate in Ulsan. Kim is the unified progressive candidate supported by the Labor Party, the Justice Party, and the Progressive Party, all endorsed by the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. Former Democratic Labor Party leader Kwon Young-gil will join the event to emphasize unity within the progressive camp and the political empowerment of workers, appealing for support for Kim. If elected, Kim will become the first basic local government head from a progressive party in 11 years since 2011.
Shin Eun-jin, the youngest Progressive Party candidate at 19 years old, will also hold a campaign kickoff greeting on the same day in front of her alma mater, Suwon Samil Technical High School. A graduate of a specialized high school, Shin expressed her ambition to create a world without discrimination and where the human rights of all are respected, based on her diverse identities including woman, youth, multicultural family member, and high school graduate worker.
Additionally, 178 candidates across 16 metropolitan and provincial regions nationwide will begin their campaigns. Among all Progressive Party candidates, 110 are women, accounting for 62% of the total candidates. There are 30 youth candidates in total.
A Progressive Party official stated, "Through victory in the local elections, we will nurture the public’s new aspirations for progressive politics," and appealed, "We ask for much support so that the Progressive Party can check the autocracy of the Yoon Seok-yeol government and grow as a new alternative force in Korean society beyond the entrenched conservative two-party system."
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