The People Power Party (PPP) has launched an all-out effort to rally its conservative base ahead of the June 3 Busan local elections, placing the "one team" and "anti-Lee Jae-myung" frames at the forefront. The party is ramping up its offensive against the ruling bloc by leveraging the Busan Global Hub City Special Act and the Democratic Party's so-called "Prosecution Withdrawal Special Counsel Bill," while publicly pressing for internal unity within the conservative camp over the candidate unification issue in the Buk-gu A district.
The election campaign committee for Busan Mayor candidate Park Heong-jun held a full committee meeting Wednesday at its headquarters, with more than 10 National Assembly members from the Busan region in attendance, to review campaign strategies and regional electoral conditions. Key campaign figures, including Co-Chairs Huh Nam-sik and Jeon Ho-hwan and Standing Campaign Headquarters Chief Kim Se-hee, were fully mobilized for the meeting.
Joo Jin-woo, Standing Chairman of the campaign committee, said in his opening remarks, "Under the 'one team' stance, public sentiment in Busan is consolidating, and a rebound in approval ratings is being detected," expressing confidence in turning the tide. He then directly criticized the Democratic Party, citing its push for constitutional amendment, Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rai's so-called "oppa remark," and the delay in the Busan Global Hub City Special Act, saying, "A pattern of disregarding Busan and its citizens is being repeated."
Jung Dong-man, Chairman of the PPP's Busan Municipal Chapter, also stressed, "Resolve and support are gathering throughout the region," adding, "With the mood rising in Ulsan and Gyeongnam as well, Busan is serving as the central axis."
At the open meeting, candidate Park called for organizational unity, saying, "For the remaining period, I will run to the end with one heart so that all 200-plus PPP candidates can be elected." In a closed-door session in particular, he directly addressed the issue of conservative division surrounding the Buk-gu A election and delivered a strong message of unity.
"To stop the Lee Jae-myung administration's runaway course and win the Busan election, we must end the division starting from Buk-gu A," Park said. "Sixty-five percent of conservative voters want unification." He added, "Right now, there is only the path of uniting together or losing together," reiterating the "one team" stance. Immediately after the meeting, the campaign committee agreed to formalize its position through a social media message under Park's name.
Along with Park, PPP candidates running in Busan's local elections held a press conference the previous day, intensively criticizing the Democratic Party's proposed "Prosecution Withdrawal Special Counsel Bill" and joining the offensive against the ruling bloc. They argued, "It is a structure aimed at relieving one's own criminal liability through a special counsel appointed by the president," and called it "a grave matter that damages the constitutional order and the judicial system."
Park criticized the bill as "legislation that shakes the state prosecution principle and judicial independence," adding, "President Lee Jae-myung's mention of only adjusting the timing rather than withdrawing it effectively reveals his will to push it forward."
The Busan Global Hub City Special Act has also emerged as a key issue. Choi Jin-bong, candidate for Jung-gu district chief, argued, "It is hard to understand how a bill signed by 1.6 million Busan citizens has come to a halt over a single word of opposition from the president." Kim Hyo-jung, a Busan Metropolitan Council candidate, launched an offensive against Democratic Party Busan mayoral candidate Jeon Jae-soo, saying, "As the lead sponsor, he failed to play a responsible role."
The PPP is defining this election not as a simple local election but as a contest over "checking the administration" and "Busan's future competitiveness," concentrating party resources on rallying the conservative base. The Democratic Party, meanwhile, is countering by strengthening job pledges centered on the marine and AI industries and stepping up livelihood-focused campaigning, suggesting that the back-and-forth between the ruling and opposition parties over Busan's public sentiment will intensify further.
