'21 Days to Local Elections' Jung Chungrae: "Democratic Party Must Win for Lee Administration's Success"

Confident in the 'Four Nos and Four Strengths' Nomination Principles
Citizen-Participation Campaigns Planned
Independent Candidacy of Kim Kwan-Young in North Jeolla
"Democratic Party Victory Is More Advantageous"

Jung Chungrae, leader of the Democratic Party, reaffirmed his resolve three weeks ahead of the June 3 nationwide local elections, emphasizing, "The Democratic Party must win for the Lee Jaemyung administration to succeed."

At a press conference held at the National Assembly on May 13, Jung stated, "The central government and local governments must work in close coordination for budgets and policies to be implemented swiftly, and for policy effects to be maximized." He defined the upcoming June 3 local elections as "an election to judge the December 3 Martial Law Uprising and to establish high-performing local governments, just like President Lee Jaemyung, who is recognized for his effective leadership, thereby achieving 'normalization of the Republic of Korea.'"

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is holding a press conference at the National Assembly on May 13, 2026. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

Regarding candidate nominations, Jung asserted that the party had adhered to the 'Four Nos' principles (no unfair cutoffs, no nominations of unqualified candidates, no parachute nominations, no corruption) and the 'Four Strengths' (systematic, party member sovereignty, open, and swift nominations). As of this date, he reported that 100% of metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial candidates and 97.8% of basic local government head candidates had been nominated.

Jung also mentioned the local election pledge, "Chak! Boot Pledge," saying, "Pledge No. 13, 'Improvement of Traditional Market Arcades,' was developed based on requests from market vendors to improve arcades when I visited traditional markets in Gangwon and Sejong." He added that the party would launch citizen-participation election campaigns, such as the 'Blue Steps Campaign,' including 'bicycle campaign teams' and 'on-foot campaign teams.'

When asked about Kim Kwan-Young, the current governor of North Jeolla Province, running as an independent after raising objections to the nomination process, Jung replied, "Having Democratic Party candidate Lee Wontak elected would be much more effective for the development of North Jeolla and the Saemangeum project." Regarding concerns that visits by the party leader to the PK and TK regions could have adverse effects, he responded, "The reality is very different from what has been reported in the media."

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