I am an editorial writer at The Korea Times, focusing on foreign policy, North Korea and domestic politics. My key areas of interest include North Korea, foreign interference in elections, election integrity, cyberattacks and human rights. Prior to joining the Editorial Board, I served as both Politics Desk editor and Culture Desk editor. During my career, I have reported on the Presidential Office under the Lee Myung-bak administration, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Assembly.
Ruling party allows ex-chairman Song to compete in primary for Seoul mayoral election
Rep. Song Young-gil of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea declares his bid to run in the Seoul mayoral election on April 17 in Hongdae, Mapo District. Yonhap
By Kang Hyun-kyung
By Kang Hyun-kyung
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on Thursday, reversed its selection committee's decision earlier in the week to rule out Rep. Song Young-gil as a candidate for the Seoul mayoral election.
DPK spokesman Ko Yong-jin said on Thursday that the ruling party will choose its candidate for the mayoral election through a primary and give all candidates equal opportunity to compete. If necessary, he went on to say that a runoff vote will be held. All candidates will be invited for a TV debate, which will be held at least once, he said.
Rep. Song welcomed the decision. “Through the primary, we will create a 'one-team DPK' and surely win the Seoul mayoral race,” he wrote on Facebook.
Members of the ruling party's interim committee met for a luncheon on Thursday, a day after they failed to reach a consensus about the selection committee's decision to eliminate DPK former Chairman Song as a candidate to run in the Seoul mayoral election.
During the two-hour lunch meeting, they agreed to hold a primary, so as to give all candidates the opportunity to compete in an internal competition to select the final, single candidate for Seoul mayor. Citizens will vote to elect the DPK candidate.
"Without excluding either former Chairman Song Young-gil or Rep. Park Ju-min, we decided to recruit additional candidates by the 22nd, including them, and from there, include an appropriate number in the primary to determine the final candidate,” the DPK spokesman said.
"In the end, what was said is that it would be better to go forward without excluding any candidates, considering the current realistic problems and the competitiveness of our candidates," Ko said.
As of Thursday, six DPK members, including Reps. Song and Park Ju-min, had submitted their applications for the internal primary.