By Chung Min-uck
Yoo Jung-bok, former minister of security and public administration and a close confidant of President Park Geun-hye, won the ruling Saenuri Party's candidate nomination for mayor of Incheon in next month's local elections, according to party officials Friday.
The 54-year-old former lawmaker will now face off against Incheon Mayor Song Young-gil of the opposition party in the elections slated for June 4.
"The city of Incheon is suffering from huge debt and corruption, and I promise to root out those bad practices to build a new Incheon," said Yoo in an acceptance speech following the party primary election held between him and ex-Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo at the city's Arena Park Convention Center.
Yoo garnered 1,473 out of 2,175 votes cast by party delegates, party members and ordinary citizens, to Ahn's 702.
These votes accounted for 80 percent of the entire poll.
In the opinion poll which accounted for 20 percent, Yoo also gained the majority with 55.1 percent.
The selection came two months after Yoo quit his post as security minister to run for mayor of Incheon.
The former three-term lawmaker is considered a key confidant of President Park, assuming important party posts during Park's presidential election campaigns in 2007 and 2012.
Meanwhile, receiving the most scrutiny in the Saenuri party is the primary for the Seoul mayoral seat.
The candidate hopefuls ― Rep. Chung Mong-joon, a seven-term lawmaker and the largest shareholder of Hyundai Heavy Industries; former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik; and Lee Hye-hoon, a member of the Supreme Council ― engaged in a heated policy debate Friday, the second of its kind.
Chung, who currently leads in opinion polls, called on other candidates to "refrain from engaging in unproductive mud-slinging" during the debate.
Kim said the business tycoon was not fit to run for the Seoul mayoral seat as he is "conceived as representing the rich," which will play negatively in competing against the opposition candidate.
Chung and Lee have recently accused Kim of carrying out illegal electioneering by openly saying that President Park supported him as the party's Seoul mayor candidate.
The primary election for the mayoral ticket is slated for May 12 and the elected candidate will compete against incumbent Park Won-soon of the NPAD.
Meanwhile, the main opposition party is also bracing for a series of party primaries as the June elections draw near.
On Saturday, the NPAD will hold a primary election to select its candidate for the South Jeolla Province governor's seat, reflecting 50 percent of the membership vote and 50 percent from an opinion poll.
The following day, the party will select its candidate for the Gyeonggi Province governor's seat, and on Tuesday its candidate for North Jeolla Province.
Yoo Jung-bok, former minister of security and public administration and a close confidant of President Park Geun-hye, won the ruling Saenuri Party's candidate nomination for mayor of Incheon in next month's local elections, according to party officials Friday.
The 54-year-old former lawmaker will now face off against Incheon Mayor Song Young-gil of the opposition party in the elections slated for June 4.
"The city of Incheon is suffering from huge debt and corruption, and I promise to root out those bad practices to build a new Incheon," said Yoo in an acceptance speech following the party primary election held between him and ex-Incheon Mayor Ahn Sang-soo at the city's Arena Park Convention Center.
Yoo garnered 1,473 out of 2,175 votes cast by party delegates, party members and ordinary citizens, to Ahn's 702.
These votes accounted for 80 percent of the entire poll.
In the opinion poll which accounted for 20 percent, Yoo also gained the majority with 55.1 percent.
The selection came two months after Yoo quit his post as security minister to run for mayor of Incheon.
The former three-term lawmaker is considered a key confidant of President Park, assuming important party posts during Park's presidential election campaigns in 2007 and 2012.
Meanwhile, receiving the most scrutiny in the Saenuri party is the primary for the Seoul mayoral seat.
The candidate hopefuls ― Rep. Chung Mong-joon, a seven-term lawmaker and the largest shareholder of Hyundai Heavy Industries; former Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik; and Lee Hye-hoon, a member of the Supreme Council ― engaged in a heated policy debate Friday, the second of its kind.
Chung, who currently leads in opinion polls, called on other candidates to "refrain from engaging in unproductive mud-slinging" during the debate.
Kim said the business tycoon was not fit to run for the Seoul mayoral seat as he is "conceived as representing the rich," which will play negatively in competing against the opposition candidate.
Chung and Lee have recently accused Kim of carrying out illegal electioneering by openly saying that President Park supported him as the party's Seoul mayor candidate.
The primary election for the mayoral ticket is slated for May 12 and the elected candidate will compete against incumbent Park Won-soon of the NPAD.
Meanwhile, the main opposition party is also bracing for a series of party primaries as the June elections draw near.
On Saturday, the NPAD will hold a primary election to select its candidate for the South Jeolla Province governor's seat, reflecting 50 percent of the membership vote and 50 percent from an opinion poll.
The following day, the party will select its candidate for the Gyeonggi Province governor's seat, and on Tuesday its candidate for North Jeolla Province.
![[INTERVIEW] YouTubers bridge Korean, Muslim and Latin American cultures](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/945e0052fe3c4dadb967f8bed43d0487.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
![[INTERVIEW] Jung Woo shapes his character for Netflix's 'A Model Family'](https://img.koreatimes.co.kr/upload/thumbnailV2/c12496c720f74a2b8ae2498e540ce558.jpg/dims/resize/178/optimize)
