The Season of Politics...Who Are the Candidates for Seoul Mayor and 25 District Chiefs?

Seoul Mayoral Election: With People Power Party's Mayor Oh Se-hoon Running, Attention on Former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon’s Candidacy for Democratic Party... Among District Mayor Candidates, People Power Party’s Kim Kyung-ho (Gwangjin-gu), Choi Ho-kwon (Yeongdeungpo-gu), Hwang In-sik and Jeon Seong-su (Seocho-gu) Prepare Strong Challenges; Meanwhile, Democratic Party’s Former Deputy District Mayors Kim Byung-hwan (Seongbuk-gu) and Moon Hong-seon (Gangseo-gu) Express Intentions, Heating Up Election Atmosphere

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] As the 20th presidential election has concluded, interest is gradually focusing on the Seoul mayoral and district mayor elections.

Since the election of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party candidate, in the 20th presidential election, the local elections to select the 8th term Seoul mayor and 25 district mayors are drawing even more attention.

First, in the Seoul mayoral election, it appears that Oh Se-hoon, the current mayor from the People Power Party who won the by-election on April 7 last year by an overwhelming margin, will make a re-challenge riding on his momentum.

Mayor Oh’s announcement of the ‘2040 Seoul Plan’ just before the presidential election, presenting a vision for Seoul to the citizens, was also interpreted as his intention to run for Seoul mayor again.

In particular, the 2040 Plan, a grand master plan that will have a significant impact such as the reconstruction along the Han River in Seoul, gave great hope to Seoul citizens.

The People Power Party currently has ‘zero’ district mayors out of the 25 districts, as Jo Eun-hee, the only district mayor from the 7th term and former Seocho District Mayor, was elected as a National Assembly member for Seocho Gap in the recent election held alongside the presidential election.

They are thus in a position to start anew from scratch.

In Jung-gu, former district mayor Jeong Dong-il has expressed his intention to run again and was active during the presidential election. However, it is reported that another former high-ranking Seoul city official is preparing as well.

In Gwangjin-gu, Kim Kyung-ho, a former Seoul City Council Secretary-General (Grade 1) and former deputy mayor of Gwangjin-gu who passed the administrative exam, has stepped into local politics by taking the position of regional committee chairman for Gwangjin, Mayor Oh Se-hoon’s constituency.

Accordingly, it is known that Chairman Kim is preparing to run for Gwangjin District Mayor by developing campaign pledges and other preparations.

In Yeongdeungpo-gu, Choi Ho-kwon, a former Consul General in India who started his public service career as the Director of Culture and Public Relations in Yeongdeungpo-gu and passed the administrative exam, is actively working in the region after vigorously supporting Yoon Seok-yeol’s presidential campaign.

In Seocho-gu, former Seoul City spokesperson Hwang In-sik and former Incheon Deputy Mayor Jeon Seong-su have solidified their intentions to run and are showing swift moves such as opening preliminary candidate offices.

Former spokesperson Hwang started his public service career in Seocho-gu after passing the local civil service exam, served as Administrative Director, then transferred to Seoul City where he served as Administrative Director, spokesperson, and head of the Han River Project Headquarters before resigning earlier this year to run for Seocho District Mayor.

Former Incheon Deputy Mayor Jeon began his public service career in Seoul City after passing the administrative exam and has held positions such as Senior Administrative Officer at the Blue House and spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior and Safety.

It is known that former Deputy Mayor Jeon became interested in the Seocho District Mayor position after serving as policy director when Jo Eun-hee ran for the People Power Party’s Seoul mayoral candidate.

Although not many candidates have emerged yet since the presidential election ended recently, it is expected that more candidates will gradually enter the race. Especially for the People Power Party, which won the presidential election, many candidates are anticipated to gather, drawing attention.

On the Democratic Party side, with Representative Woo Sang-ho and others reportedly giving up their intentions to run, attention is focused on whether former Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Kim Dong-yeon, who unified with candidate Lee Jae-myung near the end of the election, will run. There are also rumors that Kim initially hoped to run for Gyeonggi Province Governor.

Meanwhile, candidates for the Seoul district mayor elections are also gradually emerging.

Of course, since the March 9 presidential election ended recently, many candidates have not yet come forward, but the number of challengers is expected to increase.

Since the Democratic Party was defeated in the presidential election, it is of interest whether some of the current district mayors, excluding those who cannot run due to serving three terms among the 24 incumbents, will receive party nominations.

In particular, some district mayors who have had conflicts with incumbent local council members are unlikely to receive nominations, so it is expected that many incumbent district mayors may naturally be replaced.

As for district mayor candidates, in Dongdaemun-gu, Kim In-ho, Chair of the Seoul City Council, Yoon Jong-il, Director of Dongdaemun Cultural Center, and Choi Dong-min, former Blue House administrative officer, are mentioned.

In Seongbuk-gu, Kim Byung-hwan, a former deputy mayor of Seongbuk-gu who passed the administrative exam, is expected to challenge current mayor Lee Seung-ro.

Also, in Gangseo-gu, Moon Hong-seon, a former deputy mayor of Gangseo-gu who passed the administrative exam, showed active efforts to raise his profile during the presidential election period, indicating his intention to run for district mayor. However, since there are three local assembly members in the district, it remains to be seen whether they can reach an agreement.

With the local elections for the 8th term scheduled for June 1, about 80 days away, the heat of the Seoul mayoral and district mayor elections is expected to gradually intensify.

Accordingly, the outlines of these candidate groups are also expected to become clearer.

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