Kim Seok-ki, Deputy Mayor of Gimhae City, "Challenging for National Assembly Member of Changwon Seongsan-gu, My Hometown"

Kim Seok-ki, Deputy Mayor of Gimhae City, Gyeongnam, announced his candidacy for the National Assembly election scheduled for April 10 next year.

On the 13th, Deputy Mayor Kim held a press conference at the city hall press center and declared that he would run as a preliminary candidate of the People Power Party for the National Assembly in Seongsan District, Changwon City, in next year’s general election.

He said, “After completing 31 years of public service, I plan to return to my hometown Changwon and challenge politics that reflects public sentiment based on my administrative experience.”

“Since being appointed Deputy Mayor of Gimhae on July 1, 2021, I have been extremely busy dealing with various disaster situations including the aftermath of COVID-19, which remains a vivid memory,” he said. “The praise, complaints, conflicts, and reconciliations from citizens I met on site, as well as the time spent contemplating solutions to problems, became the driving force for me to take on this new challenge.”

Kim Seok-ki, Deputy Mayor of Gimhae-si, Gyeongnam, is expressing his intention to run in the general election after retirement.
[Photo by Lee Se-ryeong]

Deputy Mayor Kim completed his preliminary candidate registration and joined the People Power Party at the Changwon Seongsan District Election Commission on the 12th, the first day of preliminary candidate registration for the general election.

Although he initially registered as an independent candidate, he plans to change his preliminary candidate application documents to reflect his new party affiliation.

He will continue to serve as Deputy Mayor until the 21st and will return to civilian status from the 22nd to begin full-scale election campaigning.

Earlier, on the 1st, Gyeongnam Province received Kim’s honorary resignation letter and set his official retirement date as the 22nd.

It is understood that Kim was able to register as a preliminary candidate while still a public official based on a legal interpretation that allows resignation and party registration from the date the honorary resignation is accepted.

Kim said, “I was hesitant about registering as a preliminary candidate before retirement, but after consulting with the election commission, I decided to register because it allows me to make my name known within the legal opportunities provided.”

“Although I must start campaigning as soon as possible, the budget review for Gimhae City for next year is currently underway,” he said. “I am putting all my efforts into actively requesting that the budget necessary for the recovery of Gimhae’s local economy be passed without cuts, exactly as planned.”

He added, “Although there are only about ten days left, I will refrain from campaigning as much as possible until the budget for Gimhae City next year is finalized and will fulfill my public duties for Gimhae. Please watch and support my new challenge.”