6.1 Seoul Local Election: Which Seoul Mayor and District Chief Candidates Should Be Nominated?

With the presidential election in Seoul showing People Power Party winning 14 districts and Democratic Party 11, 65 days remain until the 8th local elections under direct election system; a challenging race for any party to sweep all seats... Candidates from each party must possess strong skills (experience and achievements), high integrity, and communication abilities; especially if an authoritarian candidate is nominated, victory is uncertain?internal district office opinions already call for thorough vetting, drawing attention.

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] It is election season.

With the 20th presidential election concluded, the local elections for the 8th term of elected officials are just 65 days away.

Accordingly, each party is busy entering the candidate verification process for the local elections.

Following the regime change after the March 9 presidential election, the local elections to be held on June 1 are also very important elections to seize local power, and a fierce contest is expected not only between the People Power Party but also the Democratic Party of Korea.

In particular, the Seoul mayoral election and the elections for the 25 district heads are considered the "flower of local elections," and each party is intensifying candidate selection by forming local election campaign committees as if their lives depended on it.

Amid this, candidate suitability is drawing attention because selecting the right candidates is the key to victory in this election.

So, what kind of candidate is a good candidate?

In elections, candidates are like products. They must have good credentials as well as meet the requirements of a leader, such as morality and character.

Once elected, a leader’s term is guaranteed for four years unless there are major problems. During this time, they have a huge impact not only on local residents but also on the lives of community members.

Moreover, with over 30 years of local autonomy history, the public’s level of awareness has increased, and there is a widespread atmosphere that authoritarian heads who shout and throw documents will never be tolerated.

Therefore, each party must carefully select candidates, present good "products," and appeal to residents to vote for them.

Especially in Seoul, as a result of this presidential election, the People Power Party candidates won in 14 autonomous districts, and the Democratic Party candidates won in 11 districts, so a fierce contest is expected in the June 1 local elections as well.

This is different from past local elections where a specific party’s candidate won by a landslide. Elections like the first and second terms of elected officials dominated by Democratic Party candidates, the third and fourth terms by Saenuri Party, and the fifth to seventh terms by Democratic Party candidates will not be repeated.

In particular, the sixth term local elections saw the Democratic Party easily win the Seoul mayoral and district head elections due to external political variables such as the Sewol ferry sinking, and the seventh term due to the North Korea-US summit.

However, the eighth term local elections are drawing attention as a regime change has occurred and the presidential election results were also close.

Accordingly, both ruling and opposition parties are expected to select candidates for district heads and others more carefully.

If the candidate is an incumbent district head, their performance during their term and evaluations from district office staff and residents should be carefully examined.

An official from a Seoul autonomous district said, “If the candidate for district head is not properly nominated, it seems certain they will lose in the main election,” adding, “Especially since the June 1 local elections are expected to be fiercely competitive between the ruling and opposition parties, thorough verification of candidates is necessary.” He also said, “Those who failed to communicate well with staff or caused problems during their term should be strictly evaluated.”

Another official from a different autonomous district advised, “A leader who is poorly chosen once will have a huge influence on the organization, so candidates should be carefully selected not only for their ability but also for high morality and character, which are the virtues of a leader.”

Because of this, it is expected that not only incumbent candidates but also prospective candidates will enter a sleepless period ahead of the local elections.

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