[General Election Candidates]②-1 Current and Former Local Government Officials Also Step Forward One After Another

Former and current senior local government officials are also increasingly running for the general election. Kim Eui-seung, former Seoul City Administrative Deputy Mayor 1, known as a key member of the 'Oh Se-hoon faction,' is running in his hometown of Andong-Yecheon, Gyeongbuk. Kim, who retired on the 27th of last month, is an administrative expert who has served as Seoul City spokesperson, head of the Economic Policy Office, and head of the Planning and Coordination Office. He will have to compete with People Power Party’s Kim Hyung-dong, a member of the National Assembly representing this district, and former provincial councilor Kim Myung-ho.

Yeom Tae-young, former Deputy Governor for Economic Affairs of Gyeonggi Province, has declared his candidacy in the Suwon-mu district of Gyeonggi Province. Yeom, a three-term mayor of Suwon, held a farewell ceremony on the 22nd of last month and applied to rejoin the Democratic Party on the 26th. Suwon City is a stronghold of the Democratic Party, having swept all five constituencies?Gap, Eul, Byeong, Jeong, and Mu?in the 21st general election. This means the competition within the party is fierce. In particular, the Suwon-mu constituency has become a vacant seat after Kim Jin-pyo, the Speaker of the National Assembly who served five terms, announced he would not run, making it the most fiercely contested district in the province. A showdown is expected with Lee Byung-jin, acting chairman of the Democratic Party’s Suwon-mu district committee, and Park Jae-soon, chairman of the People Power Party’s Suwon-mu party committee.

(From left) Kim Eui-seung, former First Deputy Mayor of Seoul, Kim Seok-ki, former Deputy Mayor of Gimhae, Jo Gwang-han, former Mayor of Namyangju, Lee Taek-gu, former Deputy Mayor of Daejeon

In Gyeonggi Province, Jo Gwang-han, former mayor of Namyangju City and the first talent recruited by the People Power Party in September last year, is running in Namyangju-byeong district. Jo served as an administrative officer in the Blue House’s Political Affairs Office during the Kim Dae-jung administration and as the Public Relations Planning Secretary in the Blue House during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. He gained attention while opposing Lee Jae-myung, the governor of Gyeonggi Province and party leader, during his tenure as mayor.

In Seo-gu Eul, Daejeon, a competition between former and current deputy mayors from the People Power Party challenging Park Beom-gye, a four-term Democratic Party member of the National Assembly, is drawing attention. Lee Taek-gu, former deputy mayor of the 8th local government, and Yang Hong-gyu, former political deputy mayor of the 4th local government, both registered as preliminary candidates on the 12th of last month. Lee, regarded as an urban planning expert, is recently noted for his prominence in policy development. Yang plans to focus on region-centered politics rather than politics centered on the Seoul metropolitan area. Kim Seok-ki, former deputy mayor of Gimhae City, announced his candidacy for Seongsan District, Changwon, Gyeongnam, after retiring from 31 years of public service on the 21st of last month.

Yang Hong-gyu, former Deputy Mayor for Political Affairs of Daejeon, Kwon Young-jin, former Mayor of Daegu, Park Il-ho, former Mayor of Miryang.

The candidacies of incumbent mayors are also points of interest. Kwak Sang-wook, former mayor of Osan City, Gyeonggi Province, who served for 12 years (2010?2022), plans to hold a book launch event on the 6th to officially announce his candidacy as a Democratic Party candidate for the general election. Kwon Young-jin, former mayor of Daegu and a member of the People Power Party, has completed preliminary candidate registration to run in Dalseo-gu Byeong, Daegu. He has served as Seoul City’s political deputy mayor and as the 33rd and 34th mayor of Daegu. Park Il-ho, former mayor of Miryang, recently retired and registered as a preliminary candidate for the People Power Party in the 'Miryang, Uiryeong, Haman, Changnyeong' region.

In the political sphere, there is an expectation of a major personnel innovation through the candidacies of former and current senior local government officials with rich administrative experience. Civil servants intending to run for the National Assembly must resign by the 11th, 90 days before the election.