Former President Park Geun-hye's visit to Busan has intensified the political battle in the closing stretch of the city's mayoral election. Park Heong-jun, the People Power Party candidate, vowed to "become a warrior for conservative unity," appealing for conservative consolidation, while the camp of Democratic Party candidate Jeon Jae-soo criticized the move as "regressive politics that exploits an impeached former president for an election."
"I hope former President Park's visit to Busan serves as an opportunity to once again unite the scattered hearts of conservatives," candidate Park said Thursday afternoon. "For Busan to achieve uninterrupted development and to block the unilateral rule of the Lee Jae-myung administration, conservatives must win this election."
Referring to recent internal conflicts within Busan's conservative camp, Park stressed that "a divided conservative bloc has no choice but to walk the path of mutual destruction." He also recalled his experience as chairman of the Innovation and Integration Promotion Committee in 2019, which led to the launch of the United Future Party, adding, "I will once again become a warrior for conservative unity."
Former President Park, who visited Gijang Market that afternoon, also threw her weight behind candidate Park. After meeting with citizens, the former president said, "Honestly, I wanted to visit Jagalchi Market and Gupo Market as well, but circumstances did not allow it. Seeing the citizens at Gijang Market helped ease that regret." She added, "Candidate Park has done much for Busan, and I trust he will continue to do much more for Busan's greater development going forward."
Earlier in the day, Jeon's election campaign committee issued a sharp rebuttal in a statement. The committee argued, "The very idea of using an impeached former president as a 'closing pitcher' in a local election runs counter to citizens' common sense and the spirit of the times."
Jeon's camp pointed out that "Former President Park is the first president to be impeached in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea," noting that "she sparked public outrage through the state affairs interference scandal and privatization of power, and was subjected to impeachment trial by the Constitutional Court." The camp went on to criticize, "Politics that consumes the history of impeachment as a means of mobilizing votes is the most outdated and regressive form of politics."
Targeting Park's remarks at the Kwanhun Club debate and elsewhere that former President Park's campaign support would help rally conservatives, Jeon's camp argued, "A local election that should be decided by citizens based on Busan's future vision and policy competition is drifting toward backward-looking politics."
"Candidate Park should look first at the livelihood issues of Busan citizens rather than Park Geun-hye marketing," Jeon's camp said, urging him to "stop attempting to politically exploit former President Park's visit to Busan, even at this late stage."
Park's camp, on the other hand, emphasized that the former president's visit was not a partisan attack but a message for conservative unity and Busan's development. "Busan, the bulwark of the Nakdong River front, must be defended at all costs," Park said, calling on supporters to rally and turn out to vote.
