How parties are preparing for next election in June
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Loading... - Alex Pinyin
- 21 Mar 2022
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South Korea's political parties are readying for another key election in June, with the Democratic Party of Korea looking to stage a comeback following its narrow defeat in the presidential election.
For the local elections set for June 1, parties are competing to win 17 gubernatorial and metropolitan mayoral posts and thousands more local administrative, legislative and educational chief posts. All Koreans born before June 2, 2004, are eligible to vote.
The last local elections ended in a landslide victory for the Democratic Party, with the liberal party grabbing 14 of the 17 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial posts. It also swept 11 out of 12 legislative seats up for grabs in the parliamentary by-elections held on the sidelines.
The result then was largely a reflection of South Koreans’ continued trust in President Moon Jae-in and his party, but the public sentiment has since shifted, and parties are arming themselves with new strategies and new mindsets to appeal to voters.
Contenders for key posts
The conservative People Power Party is looking to score another win in the upcoming election following its success in the presidential election with the victory of President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol. The tide has been in its favor in recent years, since winning the mayoral by-elections in April 2021.
The party is hoping to win at least 10 out of 17 metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial posts in the June election, and it is preparing to put forward well-famed candidates.
The Democratic Party, on the other hand, is determined to stage a comeback after two unsuccessful elections. The party suffered a major defeat in the mayoral by-elections and lost the presidency by a small margin.
It is not finalized yet who will run for which post, but it is believed that both parties will stage major heavyweights, some of whom competed in their presidential primaries, to compete for the 17 key posts.
Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon with the People Power Party is running to extend his term for another four years, and is clearly favored in all opinion surveys as the winner whomever he competes against from the Democratic Party.
The Democratic Party has been contemplating who to field against Oh, and Rep. Park Ju-min has been touted as one of the likely candidates. Read More…
