Former President Lee Myung-bak visited Haeundae in Busan on Friday to campaign for Park Heong-jun, the People Power Party's candidate for Busan mayor. The visit follows a recent trip to Busan by former President Park Geun-hye, as former conservative presidents step up efforts to consolidate the support base in the final days of the election.
Lee visited the Haeundae Traditional Market with Park to conduct an intensive campaign rally. "To develop Busan, Park must finish the work he has been doing," Lee said. "I hope Busan citizens will elect a mayor who works well so he can complete what he has started."
"If Park serves another four-year term, Busan's population will grow and the city will become a cultural and economic hub drawing young people and tourists," he added. "I will be watching from behind."
Park is regarded as a leading figure in the pro-Lee Myung-bak faction. After Lee was elected as the 17th President, Park served as a member of the Planning and Coordination Subcommittee of the Presidential Transition Committee, Senior Public Affairs Secretary at the Presidential Office, Senior Political Affairs Secretary at the Presidential Office, and Special Advisor for Social Affairs at the Presidential Office.
Before the Haeundae rally, Lee visited Suyeong-ro Church in Busan to meet with congregants. Park Min-shik, the People Power Party candidate in the parliamentary by-election for Busan's Buk-gu A district, also accompanied him. After the service, they shared a meal together at a nearby pork gukbap restaurant.
Meanwhile, the camp of Jeon Jae-soo, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Busan mayor, criticized Lee's visit to Busan. "It is a clear contradiction for the very people responsible for diminishing Busan's status by abolishing the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries to once again speak about Busan's future," the camp said.
"The Lee Myung-bak administration's abolition of the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries was a decisive event that pushed Busan to the periphery," they added. "For candidate Park Heong-jun, who participated in the government reorganization at the time, to run again for Busan mayor without reflection or accountability is to mock the citizens."
"Park bringing former President Lee Myung-bak into the election is the idea of summoning the very person who caused Busan's decline to win votes," they continued. "It is the epitome of outdated old-style politics and politics of evading responsibility."
