The Democratic Party of Korea said it would seek to recruit Ha Jung-woo, Presidential Senior Secretary for AI and Future Planning, to run in Busan's Buk-gu A district, where a National Assembly by-election is expected to be held in June.
Democratic Party Chairman Chung Chung-rae said Thursday after a volunteer activity at a grape farm in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province, that the party is "making efforts" regarding Ha's recruitment for the by-election. "Just as we made three earnest visits to former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum (for the Daegu mayoral candidacy), we are doing the same now," he said.
"I plan to meet with Senior Secretary Ha soon," Chung added. "There will be a day soon when the party officially and publicly requests his candidacy."
Cho Seung-rae, the Democratic Party's secretary-general, reportedly met with Ha on Tuesday to discuss the possibility of his running in the Busan Buk-gu A by-election. The district is the constituency of Democratic Party lawmaker Jeon Jae-soo, who is challenging for Busan mayor in the June 3 local elections. If Jeon is confirmed as the party's Busan mayoral candidate through the primary and resigns his parliamentary seat this month, the National Assembly by-election will be held alongside the local elections.
Earlier this month, Jeon said that if a by-election is held in his district, "someone like Senior Secretary Ha would be good" as the party's candidate. Ha, a Busan native, said in a recent radio interview regarding the by-election candidacy, "It's not that I haven't thought about it, and the decision of those with appointment authority is very important," adding that "the Buk-gu A constituency is where I used to hang out every day."