Early 50s Hataegyeong and Park Yongjin Also Rising

Hataekyung Declares Presidential Run as First Incumbent Lawmaker from People Power Party
Park Yongjin Shows Strong Performance with Approval Rating Surpassing 5%

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok and Gu Chae-eun] Early 50s lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties are heralding a political storm in the presidential race under the banner of generational change.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 15th, Ha Tae-kyung, a 53-year-old lawmaker from the People Power Party, declared via non-face-to-face channels such as YouTube, "I will participate in the People Power Party's presidential primary." He is the first incumbent lawmaker from the People Power Party to announce a presidential bid. Ha said, "The demand of the public can be summed up in one word: generational change," adding, "It means ending the outdated 20th-century politics as soon as possible and practicing politics suitable for the 21st century."

Ha promised a decentralized presidential system where the president focuses on national strategic tasks, and the cabinet, led by the prime minister, cooperates with the legislature to practice consensus democracy; direct election of the Prosecutor General and abolition of the Ministry of Justice; the 21st-century Jangbogo Project to establish a K-Economic Cooperation Belt in developing countries; and administrative district reorganization that abolishes the current 17 metropolitan and provincial systems to foster mega-cities at the metropolitan level.

In the ruling party, the notable performance of Park Yong-jin, a 50-year-old lawmaker from the Democratic Party who has surpassed the 5% support threshold, also stands out.

Park Yong-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who declared his candidacy for the presidential election, is holding a policy-related press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 10th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Among the Democratic Party's presidential candidates, the youngest, Park, is also calling for a "political generational change." On the same day, Park appeared on CBS's ‘Kim Hyun-jung's News Show’ and interpreted the ‘Lee Jun-seok phenomenon’ as "reflecting the public's fervent desire for political change, boiling like magma." Park questioned, "How many people think that while all sectors of South Korea have reached advanced country status, politics alone remains in a developing country situation, engaging in factional politics, lining up, showing off, and following obvious trends?"

He emphasized, "This is not simply a one-time deception or an event to attract attention, but rather well-prepared policies and visions centered on changes in the lives of the people for the future of South Korea that have been long prepared."

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