Democratic and Innovation Parties Fail to Reach Agreement on Unified Candidate for Busan Geumjeong District Mayor

The unification negotiations for the October 16 Busan Geumjeong District Mayor candidate between the Democratic Party and the Joguk Innovation Party have collapsed.

Kim Seong-hoe, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, told reporters after the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 4th, "The Joguk Innovation Party brought up the idea of including provisions to prevent reverse selection of candidates," adding, "We could not accept such conditions."

Earlier, the two parties agreed that Kim Gyeong-ji, the Democratic Party candidate, and Ryu Je-seong, the Innovation Party candidate, who are running in the Busan Geumjeong District mayoral by-election, would meet in the afternoon to discuss methods for candidate unification.

The two candidates were also scheduled to attend a candidate debate lasting two hours that afternoon. Afterwards, the two parties planned to decide the final unified opposition candidate through a public opinion poll.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (right), is visiting Cho Kuk, leader of the Innovation Party, at the National Assembly on the 21st. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

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