In the Morning Ahn Sang-soo, in the Afternoon Hwang Kyo-ahn... Opposition Presidential Candidates Successively Officially Announce Candidacy

Former Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo and Former United Future Party Leader Hwang Kyo-ahn / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporters Junyi Park and Boryeong Geum] As the ruling party enters the preliminary presidential primary system, the opposition's presidential clock, which started about two months late, has also begun to tick rapidly. Except for 'outside the party' candidates like former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, there are no prominent candidates in sight, so minor candidates within the People Power Party are also strategizing to secure their positions by declaring their candidacies early.

On the morning of the 1st, former Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo became the second opposition candidate to officially declare his presidential bid, following People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung. At a press conference that day, former Mayor Ahn threw his hat into the ring, stating, "I will build a job city called ‘Smart Mega City’ to solve job and housing problems." Earlier, he had published a book titled ‘The Problem is the Economy’ outlining his economic vision. He also emphasized his experience from two terms as mayor and three terms as a lawmaker, calling himself "the right person to lead cooperative governance."

In the afternoon, former Future United Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party) leader Hwang Kyo-ahn announced his presidential candidacy. Former leader Hwang explained, "I will restore normalcy from the abnormality caused by the Moon Jae-in administration," and added, "I plan to present a recovery plan for everything that has collapsed under the current administration."

Including these candidates, a total of 12 conservative opposition presidential candidates have declared or expressed their intention to run. Within the People Power Party, lawmakers Hong Joon-pyo and Yoo Seung-min (former Future United Party), Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong, former leader Hwang, former Mayor Ahn, lawmaker Ha, and lawmaker Kim Tae-ho have all expressed their candidacies. Outside the party, former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung, former Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Kim Dong-yeon, and Jang Sung-min, chairman of the World and Northeast Asia Peace Forum, are considered presidential contenders. Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party who is negotiating a merger with the People Power Party, has stated, "I have no plans to run yet," but is still mentioned as a potential opposition candidate. Since former Prosecutor General Yoon officially declared his political participation on the 29th of last month and began full-scale political activities, other candidates’ movements are expected to accelerate as well.

Meanwhile, opposition parties have begun to actively check the ruling party’s presidential primary launch. At the highest-level meeting that day, People Power Party Supreme Council member Bae Hyun-jin criticized, "If there is any sense of shame, it would be the minimum duty to start with reflection and apology for the livelihood failures caused by the Moon Jae-in administration over the past four years," adding, "It is disheartening whether this is a presidential race or a race to raise the stakes." On the same day, regarding Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung’s ‘Fair Growth’ slogan, who declared his presidential candidacy, Ahn Cheol-soo remarked, "Fair Growth is what I first mentioned when I started politics, so I was surprised to hear the exact same name, not a different term," and pointed out, "If there are slight differences in content, I hope it will be revised according to the original intent I had in mind."

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