Deputy Prime Minister Yoo Eun-hye Officially Announces Withdrawal from Local Elections... Cheong Staff Also Likely to Stay

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo: "I will fulfill my duties until the end"
Cheong: "No such atmosphere" regarding Park Su-hyun and Lee Cheol-hee's chief secretary candidacy rumors

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Following Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye's official announcement that she will not run for Governor of Gyeonggi Province, aides at the Blue House who had been considering running in the local elections are also expected to remain until the end of the administration. It is analyzed that political judgment played a role, given the very serious COVID-19 situation and concerns that running could negatively affect the ruling party's candidate ahead of the presidential election.

According to the Blue House and political circles on the 16th, the Blue House aides who were rumored to run in the local elections this June are expected to stay with President Moon Jae-in until the end. There were rumors that Park Soo-hyun, Chief of Public Communication at the Blue House, would run for Governor of Chungnam Province, and that Park Kyung-mi, spokesperson, and Lee Cheol-hee, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, would run for Seoul Superintendent of Education and Seoul Mayor, respectively. A Blue House official said, "The aides are not in the mood to run," sharing the internal situation. Some individuals also directly stated they have no intention to run.

Deputy Prime Minister Yoo met with reporters at the Government Complex Sejong on the same day and clearly expressed her intention not to run, saying, "I will fulfill my duties until the very end." Until now, political circles had expected Deputy Prime Minister Yoo to resign soon to run in the local elections on June 1. Although the deadline for resignation from public office to run in the local elections is March 3, it was thought she might resign right after the Lunar New Year holiday to prepare for the election, including organizational arrangements.

However, with daily COVID-19 cases reaching 90,000 and the new school semester approaching, there are criticisms that it would not look good to the public for the Deputy Prime Minister for Education of the Moon administration, which has advocated a "responsible government," to step down for election purposes. The fact that the support rates of the ruling and opposition presidential candidates have been neck and neck recently also seems to have influenced the decision to postpone resignation. Hong Nam-ki, Deputy Prime Minister for Economy and Minister of Strategy and Finance, who was mentioned as a candidate for Governor of Gangwon Province, and Jeon Hae-cheol, Minister of the Interior and Safety, who was mentioned as a candidate for Governor of Gyeonggi Province, have also expressed their intention to remain in the cabinet. The Blue House has maintained an official stance that there will be no resignations following Yoon Nan-sil, Secretary for Institutional Reform, who resigned in January to run for Mayor of Gwangsan District, Gwangju.

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