Kim Eo-jun Responds to Prime Minister's Request to Exclude from Polls: "I'll Decide Myself"

Yeoronjosakot Includes Prime Minister Kim in Seoul Mayoral Poll
Prime Minister's Office: "Regret... Continuing to Include Him Is Inappropriate"
Kim Eo-jun: "It's Up to the Agency... I Know He Won't Run"

Progressive broadcaster Kim Eo-jun countered the Prime Minister's Office's request to exclude Prime Minister Kim Min-seok from the Seoul mayoral election opinion poll by stating, "It is up to the polling agency to decide."

On January 26, through his YouTube channel "Kim Eo-jun's Humility Is Difficult News Factory," Kim said, "I know that Prime Minister Kim is not running," but added, "Being ranked first in a hypothetical matchup is called having a presence, and during elections, that kind of presence provides reassurance."

Progressive broadcaster Kim Eo-jun refuted the Prime Minister's Office's request to exclude Prime Minister Kim Min-seok from the Seoul mayoral election opinion poll, stating, "It is up to the polling agency to decide." The photo shows Prime Minister Kim appearing on Kim's broadcast last November. Kim Eo-jun's "Humility Is Difficult" News Factory YouTube.

Kim stated, "Including someone in the poll is a decision for 'Yeoronjosakot' (the polling agency). I will handle it as I see fit," and added, "If the approval rating is too low, we may not include someone even if they ask, and even if it's high, we may or may not comply with the candidate's wishes."

Previously, on January 23, the Prime Minister's Office announced through a press release, "We have requested that the Prime Minister not be included in the Seoul mayoral election opinion poll, but we express very serious regret regarding some polls that continue to include him." The office further stated, "Even though there are other candidates with sufficient competitiveness, continuing to include the Prime Minister against his wishes is highly inappropriate," and "We strongly reiterate our request not to include the Prime Minister in polls related to the Seoul mayoral election."

This message was interpreted as being directed at the polling agency 'Yeoronjosakot,' founded by Kim. Yeoronjosakot included Prime Minister Kim in its Seoul mayoral candidate suitability poll conducted from January 19 to 21, and released the results on YouTube. At that time, Kim also responded, "It is natural for the Prime Minister's Office to ask for Prime Minister Kim's name to be removed," but added, "Usually we remove it, but sometimes we may not."

According to the poll, Prime Minister Kim ranked third in the question about the 'most suitable progressive figure for Seoul mayor,' recording a response rate of 7.3%, following Jeong Won-oh, Mayor of Seongdong-gu, Seoul (20.9%), and Park Jumin, a Democratic Party lawmaker (10%). In a head-to-head matchup against conservative candidate Oh Se-hoon, the current Seoul mayor, Kim led with 48.6% to 32.6%, and against Na Kyung-won, a People Power Party lawmaker, Kim led with 51.2% to 27.4%. The poll was conducted via wireless phone interviews with 2,008 Seoul residents aged 18 or older over three days starting January 19. The response rate was 9.0%, with a margin of error of ±2.2 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. For more details, refer to the website of the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission.

Meanwhile, there is speculation that Prime Minister Kim will run in the Democratic Party's leadership election in August. In an interview with Newsis released on January 20, when asked about the possibility of running for party leader at the Democratic Party's August convention, he said, "As someone who loves the Democratic Party as much as myself, I naturally always think about the present and future of the party, and the direction of the times," adding, "I have great interest in the present and future of the party." However, depending on recent developments such as the merger discussions between the Democratic Party and the Cho Kuk Innovation Party and the results of the June local elections, the timing of his return to the party could change.