Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum of the Democratic Party of Korea officially declared his candidacy for the June 3 local elections on the 30th, stating, "I intend to challenge for the Daegu mayoral race once again." Kim explained his decision by saying, "Overcoming regionalism and achieving balanced regional development is my final calling." He ran for Daegu mayor in 2014 and lost but garnered approximately 40% of the vote. In the 2016 general election, he won by an overwhelming margin in Daegu's Suseong district. With Kim — whose electoral appeal in Daegu has been proven — now entering the race, the dynamics of this local election are likely to shift significantly.
The People Power Party (PPP), whose stronghold is now under threat, remains consumed by internal feuding. The party's nomination management committee recently narrowed the Daegu mayoral preliminary candidates to six through a screening cutoff process, but allegations that a specific candidate had been pre-selected deepened internal turmoil. Rep. Joo Ho-young, who was eliminated in the cutoff, went so far as to file a court injunction to suspend the decision's effect. Kim Young-hwan, governor of North Chungcheong Province, who was also cut from the Chungbuk nomination, is likewise pursuing legal action in protest. If Rep. Joo and Governor Kim run as independents, the conservative vote in Daegu and North Chungcheong will inevitably split. In the Seoul metropolitan area, amid fears of a clean sweep defeat, the party still struggles to find a candidate for Gyeonggi Province governor.
The PPP's leadership — including party leader Jang Dong-hyuk and nomination committee chairman Lee Jung-hyun — bears significant responsibility for the party's disintegration by turning a blind eye to reform. Since taking office, Jang has pursued a hard-line conservative course, driving away centrist voters. He belatedly apologized for the December 3 martial law crisis only in January this year, yet continues to call for "Yoon again," failing to break ties with extremist factions. Most recently, he appointed comedian Lee Hyuk-jae — who has a record of assaulting a room salon employee and claiming former President Yoon Suk-yeol's innocence — as a judge for the party's "open audition for proportional representation youth candidates for metropolitan councils."
With Jang making one misstep after another, concerns are growing that the PPP could suffer a clean sweep loss — as it did in the 2018 local elections, winning only in the Daegu-North Gyeongsang (TK) region — or even lose Daegu and be reduced to a "North Gyeongsang party." It speaks volumes that candidates are openly said to be reluctant to invite Jang to their campaign rallies. The PPP must now make a decisive shift toward a centrist course and firmly sever ties with forces that defended the martial law declaration. Only by overhauling its nomination standards and procedures and fielding candidates who meet the public's expectations can the party avert a catastrophic conservative defeat.