Ulsan Holds the Key to Unification for the Ruling Bloc... Innovation and Progressive Parties Face Challenge of Reconciliation

A Five-Way Race: Three from the Progressive Bloc, Two from the Conservative Bloc
Candidates Urge Party Leadership to Make a Decision

The key issue to watch in the upcoming 9th nationwide local elections on June 3 is the matter of candidate unification. In particular, the negotiations for a unified candidate among the Democratic Party, the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, and the Progressive Party for the Ulsan mayoral race are a variable that could impact not only the local elections but also the structure of the parliamentary by-elections.

According to political circles as of April 16, the Ulsan mayoral election has shaped up to be a five-way contest among Kim Du-kyum of the People Power Party (the incumbent mayor), Sangwook Kim of the Democratic Party, Jonghoon Kim of the Progressive Party, Myungpil Hwang of the Innovation Party, and Maengwoo Park, an independent candidate. Ulsan has traditionally been a stronghold for conservative parties, and the current mayor is also from the People Power Party. However, the fact that Park, a three-term former Ulsan mayor, is running as an independent rather than as a People Power Party candidate introduces a new variable.

(Ulsan=Yonhap News) On the 25th, at the Ulsan City Council Press Center, Democratic Party lawmaker Sangwook Kim (left) and former Dong-gu District Mayor Jounghoon Kim of the Progressive Party coincidentally met and shook hands. They are expected to carry out a unification process of candidates from the progressive camp for the Ulsan mayoral race in the June 3 local elections. March 25, 2026 [Provided by Ulsan City Council. Redistribution and DB prohibited] Photo by hkm@yna.co.kr (End)

The Democratic Party is seeing somewhat favorable results in opinion polls, but the situation remains uncertain. Ulsan is an area where labor unions are influential and where the Progressive Party has demonstrated competitiveness in practical politics. Democratic Party candidate Sangwook Kim stated on MBC Radio, "All three candidates from the broad democratic camp share the same view on unification," adding, "I hope the parties will reach an agreement as soon as possible."

The complication arises from the fact that Jaeyeon Kim, leader of the Progressive Party, declared an early candidacy for the Pyeongtaek by-election in Gyeonggi Province, but now the Cho Kuk Innovation Party's leader has also entered the race. There had been talk in some political circles that the Progressive Party might yield the Ulsan mayoral race in exchange for the Democratic Party yielding Pyeongtaek, but with Cho Kuk's candidacy, the unification issue has become far more complex. Kim, the Progressive Party leader, criticized Cho Kuk, saying, "It is most difficult to understand that the candidacies of party leaders from progressive parties have made coalition itself impossible."

The Innovation Party is also unwilling to back down. With the party leader contesting the race in his own district, the party has no choice but to focus all its efforts there. If the unification issue becomes tangled, it is expected to create problems for the Democratic Party's election strategy in Ulsan. A Progressive Party official commented, "We have nominated district office chief candidates throughout Ulsan. If there is no unification with the Progressive Party, there will be numerous districts where it will be difficult to secure victory."

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