Park Jun-hee, preliminary candidate and incumbent mayor of Gwanak District in Seoul, held a campaign office opening ceremony on Monday and formally launched his bid for a third consecutive term as district mayor in the 9th popularly elected local government term.
According to Park's campaign on Tuesday, an estimated 3,000 district residents and party members attended the opening ceremony. Park completed his preliminary candidate registration on Saturday and used the ceremony as a starting point to ramp up his primary campaign activities within the party.
The campaign said the ceremony was led primarily by Gwanak District residents and registered members of the Democratic Party of Korea, rather than being centered on national-level political figures. Preliminary candidates for city and district council seats in the district attended the event to express their support.
Park emphasized that he is a "true Democratic Party member" who has walked only the path of the Democratic Party for 40 years since joining the Pyeongmindang (Party for Peace and Democracy) in 1987, and called for his support base to rally behind him. "We were selected as the top-performing institution in the joint government evaluation for three consecutive years, achieved a 99.6% manifesto pledge fulfillment rate, and secured approximately 1.2 trillion won ($880 million) in external funding to finally open the era of a 1 trillion won budget for Gwanak District," he said. "Administration thrives on continuity and stability, so an experienced leader who can guarantee administrative continuity is absolutely necessary to achieve uninterrupted development and a quantum leap for Gwanak."
Park presented his vision for the 9th term under the slogan "Together, the Best Gwanak Where Everyone Is Happy," and announced six key goals: △Together Economy △Happy Basic Society △Youth Special City △Top-tier Education and Culture △Healing Garden City △AI Innovation Gwanak District Office.
Park's fundraising support committee was already launched on June 1. Noh Seong-hyeon, managing partner of Semun Law Firm, serves as chairman, with local figures participating as vice chairs.
"Park Jun-hee, the capable leader recognized by Lee Jae-myung, is the only right person who can perfectly achieve a great leap for Gwanak together with President Lee Jae-myung," Park said. "Together with the respected 500,000 residents of Gwanak District and fellow party members, we will surely win on June 3."