By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff Reporter
The mayoral election in Busan, the nation's second-largest city, is showing signs of becoming a one-man race, at a time when a cut-throat competition is expected in the Seoul contest.
In the capital, big name politicians of the governing party such as Reps. Won Hee-ryong and Na Kyung-won, have thrown down the gauntlet against incumbent Mayor Oh Se-hoon to head the party's ticket in the June 2 local elections.
They are likely to face stiff competition from former Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, the most popular contender from the opposition camp.
She is on trial for bribery, but her popularity has been surging with an increasing number of people viewing the allegations as a political vendetta.
In contrast, competition seems to be losing steam in the mayoral election in the nation's largest port city.
The governing Grand National Party (GNP) said Thursday it would not run a challenger in the primary unless a strong candidate emerges to take on incumbent mayor Hur Nam-sik.
Hur, who is seeking reelection for his third term, is leading the race not only within the GNP, but also against potential rivals from opposition parties, according to the latest polls.
A recent mock election between three leading contenders showed that Mayor Hur of the GNP is the frontrunner with support of 43 percent, followed by Moon Jae-in and Kim Jung-kil.
Moon, presidential chief of staff during the previous Roh Moo-hyun administration, had 23.6 percent of the support, while former Government Administration and Home Affairs Minister Kim trailed behind them with 13.1 percent.
But Moon, the biggest rival to Hur, has declined the opposition camp's offer to run in the June 2 elections, saying he has no interest in politics.
Moon, who is being pressured to run, is currently working as a lawyer in Busan.
In another mock election between Hur and Kim of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), the incumbent enjoyed support of 45.8 percent. Kim had 33.2 percent.
Hur declared his bid Tuesday. Sources say Kim has yet to make up his mind, but will "seriously consider it."
Nevertheless, pundits predict an easy victory for Hur in Busan unless Moon declares his bid, claiming that the DP appears to have no hidden card and the port city has long been the conservative party's stronghold.
Two of his strongest rivals within the GNP, Reps. Suh Byung-soo and An Kyung-ryul, have announced that they will not run in the upcoming elections. Suh and An are both three-term lawmakers whose constituencies are in Busan.
Min Byung-ryul of the Democratic Labor Party, Kim Seok-jun of the Progressive New Party and Hwang Baek-hyun of the Liberty Forward Party have also declared their bids to compete in the mayoral contest. But their support rates remain in the single digits, lagging far behind compared to that of Hur.
Hur has served as Busan mayor since 2004.