Kim Bu-gyeom Declares "Presidential Bid"... Joo Ho-young Says "If He Wins, I Am Also a Presidential Candidate"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Kim Boo-kyum, the Democratic Party candidate, is challenging for the presidency. Kim, who is running in the Daegu Suseong-gap district, stated at the launch event on the 2nd, "I will go beyond the general election to revitalize Daegu, eradicate regionalism politics and factional politics, and firmly reform the country as the President of the Republic of Korea."

If elected this time, he will become a five-term lawmaker. He said, "With the dream and ambition to start from Daegu and change the Republic of Korea, after losing twice and winning once, I am challenging again," adding, "I will stake my entire political life and do my utmost to surely win."

He also emphasized in a post titled 'The Power Absolutely Needed for Daegu,' "I foresaw the crisis brought by COVID-19 and insisted that supplementary budgets should be prepared earlier than anyone else," and criticized the Ministry of Economy and Finance, saying, "When only 600 billion won was allocated to Daegu and Gyeongbuk as COVID-19 supplementary budgets, and the contents were limited to loans or guarantees, I insisted it should be direct cash support."

He continued, "I have always been one step ahead of Daegu City in suggesting the direction Daegu should take and have secured any necessary support from the government and ruling party. While reviewing the supplementary budget in the Budget and Accounts Committee, I eventually brought back an additional 1 trillion won for Daegu and Gyeongbuk support. This was a great help to Daegu, whose annual budget is only 9 trillion won."

Meanwhile, Joo Ho-young, a four-term lawmaker running in the same district from the United Future Party, stated in a United Future Party position statement, "If I win this general election, I will also enter the United Future Party's presidential candidate pool."

He added, "To become the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, one needs the approval of the pro-Moon faction, so-called 'Moonppa,' and their support is crucial," and argued, "Kim's presidential bid declaration should not dilute the main purpose of this general election, which is to judge the Moon Jae-in administration. This general election is a preliminary battle for the TK (Daegu·Gyeongbuk) regime creation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.