Kim Jong-in "Must Win Seoul By-election to Secure Presidential Victory... Need to Select Candidates Desired by Citizens"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Lee Ji-eun and Lim Chun-han] Kim Jong-in, Emergency Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, emphasized that the upcoming Seoul mayoral by-election next year is "a very important election that can create an opportunity for our party to newly take power in the presidential election," and that a candidate who meets the citizens' expectations must be selected.

Chairman Kim attended the 'Seoul Citizens Candidate Search Public Hearing' held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 6th and said, "We must win the Seoul mayoral by-election next year to create an opportunity for our party to newly take power in the 2022 presidential election."

He added, "Therefore, it is an important task to determine what kind of person Seoul citizens want and which candidate should be nominated in accordance with the will of Seoul citizens," and said, "If we discuss the procedure for nominating a new candidate here and derive the most appropriate method, the primary preparation committee will finalize the proper primary rules."

Regarding the ruling party's decision to nominate a candidate, he said, "The April election next year is a by-election held due to the power-type sexual harassment scandal involving the late Mayor Park Won-soon," and added, "It was an election where the Democratic Party should not have nominated a candidate, but there will be a cold judgment from the citizens regarding such shameless behavior."

Kim Sang-hoon, Chairman of the Primary Committee, recently mentioned the housing lease crisis in Seoul, saying, "Citizens are rushing to leave for Gyeonggi Province in search of rental housing, experiencing unprecedented hardship," and added, "In these difficulties, this will be an opportunity to think together about who the Seoul mayor is that will protect and stand with the lives of Seoul citizens."

He also pointed out a recent gaffe by Minister of Gender Equality and Family Lee Jung-ok, saying, "The Seoul mayoral by-election is not an election to spend 83.8 billion won of taxpayers' money to learn gender sensitivity," and added, "This is not a fight between factions or sides; it is an election that only looks at Seoul citizens. We will listen to the opinions of women and youth and refer to them in the primary rules."

Park Sung-joong, the chairman of the Seoul City Party, also emphasized, "The Seoul mayoralty has been taken by the Democratic Party for the past 10 years. We have suffered a lot, and now we must take it back," and stressed, "Looking at Mayor Park's conduct in Seoul over the past 10 years, international competitiveness has fallen to 70th place, and financial competitiveness has dropped from 6th to 33rd place. Now it must be normalized."

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