Ex-presidential candidate to announce bid for Seoul mayoral by-election
Minor opposition People's Party head Ahn Cheol-soo speaks during the party's supreme council meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, Dec. 14. Yonhap
Ahn Cheol-soo, the head of the minor opposition People's Party, will announce his bid to run in next year's Seoul mayoral by-election, officials here said Saturday.
Ahn, who finished third in the South Korean presidential election in 2017, told party officials via a text message that he has decided to run for the top executive position of Seoul, the capital and largest city of South Korea.
Ahn, 58, will officially declare his bid for the Seoul mayoralty by-election, which is scheduled for April 7, 2021, at a press conference Sunday, according to the officials.
The Seoul mayoral seat has been left vacant since July following the sudden death of Park Won-soon, who was found dead on a mountain in Seoul in apparent suicide after sexual harassment allegations emerged.
In 2011, Ahn considered running in a by-election for the Seoul mayoralty, with his support rating exceeding 50 percent at the time. But he quit the race, lending his support to then candidate Park Won-soon who eventually won the election.
Ahn also ran for the Seoul mayoral election in 2018 but came in third.
The Seoul mayoral race is regarded as the most important election in South Korea after the presidential poll held every five years. (Yonhap)