Democratic Party "Chasing Local Elections Begins After Roh Memorial on 23rd... Requesting Support Fire Toward Kwon No-gap, Lee Hae-chan, Lee Nak-yeon, and Others"

"Intense Competition Expected in About 10 Out of 25 Districts in Seoul"
"Currently, 7 to 8 Districts Appear to Have the Upper Hand"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 22nd, ten days before the June 1 local elections, the Democratic Party of Korea expected that the election landscape would change starting from the memorial ceremony for the 13th anniversary of former President Roh Moo-hyun's death on the 23rd. To this end, the party plans to mobilize key figures within the party to actively consolidate its support base.

Kim Min-seok, co-chief of the Democratic Party's election committee, held a press briefing at the National Assembly in the afternoon and said, "After tomorrow's memorial service in Bongha Village, we plan to start a fierce pursuit in the competitive regions," adding, "We believe the chase will begin in competitive areas excluding three Honam regions?Gyeonggi, Incheon, Chungnam, Gangwon, Sejong, and Jeju."

He explained, "From the Democratic Party's perspective, the inauguration ceremony of President Yoon Seok-yeol and the (sexual misconduct) incidents involving our lawmakers were unfavorable conditions that widened the gap," and added, "We expect these issues to subside somewhat after a week."

He continued, "The disputes surrounding the confirmation of Prime Minister Han Duck-soo have passed, and with the Democratic Party making a magnanimous decision, the atmosphere on the ground is that 'the Democratic Party has done this much, so the government and ruling party should do well,'” he said.

Kim said, "Next week will be a kind of full mobilization week. I told senior party figures such as Kwon No-gap, chairman of the Kim Dae-jung Memorial Foundation; Chung Sye-kyun, chairman of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation; former leader Lee Nak-yeon; former Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun; former National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang; and former leader Lee Hae-chan that if they could encourage and visit even a few competitive regions, it would greatly energize supporters."

He added, "We have already requested some of them, and they are positively considering it. Those who have been asked have given positive responses, and we plan to earnestly request those we have not yet approached."

Regarding the mayoral elections in Seoul's 25 districts, he said, "Out of the 25 districts in Seoul, about 10 will be fiercely competitive. We expect to enter a competitive advantage zone after the beginning of next week."

On the same day, Representative Kim Young-bae said, "I hope to win 15 out of the 25 mayoral seats. If we get fewer than 10, it can be considered a loss," adding, "Currently, there are about 7 to 8 places where we seem to have an advantage."