Sparring over local elections intensifies, with 6 months still to go
South Korea’s political sphere appears raring and ready to enter election mode, with the Seoul mayoral race already fanning speculation and bipartisan attacks being lobbed against potential candidates.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea has seen three of its Supreme Council members announce bids for positions in local government, with several other heavyweights also seen as connected to the Seoul race.
At least seven politicians affiliated with the ruling party have openly expressed intentions to run for Seoul mayor. Among them are incumbent Reps. Park Hong-keun, Seo Young-kyo, Park Ju-min, Jeon Hyun-heui and Kim Young-bae. Former lawmakers Hong Ihk-pyo and Park Yong-jin are also considered potential candidates.
In addition, Chong Won-O, incumbent head of the Seongdong-gu Office, has been seen as potentially connected to the Seoul mayoral election.
Though Chong has so far only stated that he is “close” to making a decision on whether to run for Seoul mayor, he found himself at the center of fresh controversy over a statement by President Lee Jae Myung on social media on Monday, which some are interpreting as an inappropriate endorsement.
In the post, Lee shared a link to a news article on his X account about Chong that said nearly 93 percent of respondents in a poll said they were satisfied with the Seongdong-gu chief's performance.
"Chong must be good at his job," Lee said in the post sharing the article.
Lee, who previously served as mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, added that Chong's popularity while leading the city district "could not be matched, although mine was quite high."
The X post on Monday came a day after Lee shared another complimentary post involving a Democratic Party official.
The president shared a post by Oceans Minister Chun Jae-soo, who hailed two South Korean shipping firms for their decisions to relocate their respective headquarters to Busan. Lee expressed his gratitude for the firms joining the initiative to strengthen Busan's position as the nation's maritime hub.
Although presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung on Tuesday described Monday's post as Lee's "personal reflection on the happiest time in his life as a local government chief," it nonetheless sparked debate.
Democratic Party Rep. Park Hong-keun, who launched his mayoral bid in November, said in a radio interview with CBS on Tuesday that he was envious and at the same time "puzzled and baffled" by the post. But he added that he believed the president is not the type of person to endorse someone considered a likely candidate for public office.
On Monday, Rep. Na Kyung-won of the main opposition People Power Party contended that Lee's social media activities could be seen as "a precursor to election interference" by the president, as it could indicate he had chosen Chong over the other candidates.
"It is effectively a preelection campaign by the president," Na said.
The minor conservative New Reform Party's spokesperson Jeong Yi-han also said Monday that Lee's post "is not a mere compliment, but an apparent 'nomination guideline' for the Democratic Party," adding that such open praise could be a "dangerous signal."
The mayoral posts in both Seoul and Busan — South Korea's two most populous cities — are currently occupied by figures from the political right, Oh Se-hoon and Park Heong-joon, respectively, who both won by-elections in 2021 and were reelected in a wave of victories by the then-ruling People Power Party in the 2022 local elections.
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