Kim Eun-hye to join race for Gyeonggi governor

Formerly President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol's spokesperson until April 5, Rep. Kim Eun-hye, speaks during a press conference at the presidential transition committee's office in Tongui-dong, Seoul, Tuesday. Joint Press Corps

By Nam Hyun-woo

The president-elect's spokesperson, until this morning, Rep. Kim Eun-hye of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), is expected to join the race for the governorship of Gyeonggi Province.

The PPP's primary to select its candidate to run in the gubernatorial race heated up as former presidential hopeful Yoo Seong-min of the PPP has already declared his bid to run in the election. A two-way race between Yoo and Kim now seems inevitable.

In the ruling party's camp, Kim Dong-yeon, who will join the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) soon, declared a bid to run in the gubernatorial election. Given the political importance of the region, which is the most populated province of Korea, the race's outcome in the June 1 local elections is expected to indicate whether the Yoon administration will have political momentum in its early stages.

During a regular press conference held at the Korea Banking Institute in Seoul, this Tuesday morning, Kim told reporters that she was resigning from the spokesperson post, introducing PPP lawmaker Rep. Bae Hyun-jin as her successor.

“This is my last news briefing as the President-elect's spokesperson,” Kim said. “Though I am yet to make my mind up on whether to run in the Gyeonggi governor race, I will let you know my decision as soon as I have made it.”

So far, Kim has been rumored to be a PPP contender for the Gyeonggi governor post, though she has not clarified her intention. After the press conference, she told reporters that she will make a decision no later than Wednesday.

Kim, a former MBC news anchor and first-term lawmaker, rose as a hotshot after assisting Yoon's campaign strategy, alleging the involvement of DPK presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung in a land development scandal during the presidential election. After the election, she served as Yoon's spokesperson, gaining public attention as a close aide to the incoming president.

Former lawmaker Yoo Seong-min announces his bid to run for the Gyeonggi Province governorship during a press conference at the National Assembly, March 31. Joint Press Corps

If she joins the race, Kim is anticipated to be in close competition with Yoo during the party's primary to pick a single candidate.

Yoo, who announced his bid on March 31, is a former four-term lawmaker who competed with President-elect Yoon during the party's presidential candidate primary. In the 2017 presidential election, he finished fourth as the minor conservative Bareun Party candidate, garnering 6.76 percent of the vote.

PPP officials said that Rep. Kim's participation in the race for Gyeonggi governorship may place greater public attention on the local elections, thus enabling the main opposition party to get the advantage over the DPK even before official campaigning for the June 1 elections begins.

Currently, Kim Dong-yeon, a former deputy prime minister and minister of strategy and finance who withdrew his candidacy bid before the March 9 presidential election, is believed to be the leading contender among the DPK members seeking the governor post. The former deputy prime minister is now leading his political party, the New Wave, but he has agreed to merge the party with the DPK.

According to a survey by Realmeter, Yoo was the most favored Gyeonggi Province governor candidate, with a 23.3 percent support rate. He was followed by former deputy prime minister Kim with 19.8 percent and Rep. Kim with 8.1 percent.

In a two-way comparison between Yoo and former deputy prime minister Kim, Yoo had a slight advantage with 37.6 percent, outpacing deputy prime minister Kim with 36 percent.

The poll surveyed 1,009 adults in Gyeonggi Province from April 1 to 2, and further details are available on the National Election Survey Deliberation Commission's website.