Lee Jun-seok "Next Seoul Mayor Candidates Will Include Ahn Cheol-soo, Park Ju-min, and Park Yong-jin"

Former Lee Jun-seok, Supreme Council Member of the United Future Party. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon, Intern Reporter Min Jun-young] Amid speculation about potential candidates from prominent political figures for the vacant Seoul mayoral position, former Supreme Council member of the United Future Party, Lee Jun-seok, stated, "Ahn Cheol-soo also has not said 'I will not run for Seoul mayor.'"

In an interview on the CBS radio program 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 22nd, Lee said, "(Ahn Cheol-soo's) close aides told me again that he is 'turning his eyes to the Seoul mayoral position.' When I said I couldn't trust what close aides say, they replied, 'What we are saying is correct,'" he said.

He continued, "For the People’s Party to pursue a self-reliance strategy going forward, since the party’s influence is weaker than the previous People’s Party, they can leverage their three seats and their strong asset, leader Ahn, to find a breakthrough in elections, which would be either the presidential election or the Seoul mayoral election."

Regarding Park Ju-min, a Supreme Council member who declared his candidacy for the next Democratic Party leader on the 21st, he said, "(The Democratic Party’s Seoul mayoral candidate selection) will be highly competitive," adding, "Park’s two pillars, feminism and activities related to the Sewol ferry disaster, are very important key points for supporters of the ruling party. Therefore, he might run for party leader before going for the Seoul mayoral position."

He added, "(Park’s bid for party leader) is a positive move considering his status as a second-term lawmaker challenging an internal party election," and said, "If elected, he can build a youthful image as leader, and even if he does not win, the organization will still vote for him as the Seoul mayoral candidate, making it an excellent choice."

Lee predicted the candidacy of Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin for Seoul mayor, saying, "Actually, since last week, there has been talk in political circles that there are candidates stronger in the general election than in the primary."

He said, "Initially, well-known female politicians like Park Young-sun and Choo Mi-ae were frequently mentioned on the Democratic side," adding, "Not because of that, but to create excitement again, there was talk of promoting the two Parks. Among them, the young second-term lawmakers in Seoul would be Park Ju-min and Park Yong-jin."

Furthermore, he said, "In a situation where the Democratic Party can maintain dominance in the metropolitan area as it is now, more attention will be paid to the strong primary candidate (Park Ju-min), but if they need to win over votes from the United Future Party or centrists, the general election strong candidate (Park Yong-jin) will be favored," adding, "Although I mentioned the two consecutively, second-term or higher lawmakers will continue to be considered as potential candidates in Seoul."

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