As the June 3 local elections draw near, competition among Democratic Party of Korea candidates is intensifying. Lawmakers Kim Young-bae, Park Ju-min, and Jeon Hyun-hee are moving to keep Chong Won-o, the Seongdong District chief in Seoul who is touting the so-called "Myung-pick (Lee Jae-myung's pick)," in check.
◇ Chong Won-o, from his run announcement to campaign materials, is a look-alike of Lee
District chief Chong Won-o began to be called the so-called "Myung-pick" after President Lee Jae-myung posted on X (formerly Twitter) last December that he "gets things done." The two share the commonality of having served as local government heads.
Since then, assessments have emerged that Chong's local election strategy is coming to resemble President Lee's presidential campaign strategy. On the 9th, the Chong Won-o camp replaced an in-person announcement by posting a video declaring his run on the YouTube channel "Chong Won-o TV." Earlier, when running in the last presidential election, President Lee also released his announcement video on "Lee Jae-myung TV."
Chong's slogans for the Seoul mayoral race are "Seoul mayor of the Lee Jae-myung administration" and "citizen sovereignty Seoul." They are similar to the president's "popular sovereignty administration." The campaign materials also resemble Lee's, mixing a bit of the red symbolizing the People Power Party into the blue symbolizing the Democratic Party.
On the 10th, the Chong Won-o camp announced appointments naming Rep. Lee Hae-sik as chair of the election committee and Rep. Chae Hyun-il as chief of the general election headquarters. Rep. Lee Jeong-heon was tapped as chief spokesperson and head of the media communications headquarters, and Rep. Park Min-gyu as head of strategy and head of organization.
◇ Jeon Hyun-hee: "Leaning on the halo?" Park Ju-min: "I have worked with the president" Kim Young-bae: "Win on merit"
As district chief Chong Won-o pushed the "Myung-pick" label to the fore, other Democratic Party candidates moved to keep him in check. Appearing on MBC Radio on the 10th, Rep. Jeon Hyun-hee said, "As soon as (Chong) appeared, he has been established by polls as the party's No. 1 candidate," but added, "Rather than his own ability, vision, or policies, it seems to be an effect of leaning on a halo, with his poll numbers rising not because of his own ability but due to that halo."
At a vision declaration event on the 9th, Rep. Park Ju-min said, "We need an architect who has the experience of crafting national-level policies with the president and has designed systems that fundamentally change citizens' lives." He added, "I learned while working with the president at the National Assembly. For the past 10 years, I have been designing systems at the national level." This was seen as emphasizing his ties with President Lee.
On the 6th, Rep. Kim Young-bae said, "Showing a proud primary fought on merit seems right for the Lee Jae-myung era," adding, "We should present party members with proper vetting, debate, and policies, but despite candidates raising concerns that this could become a blind primary, the party is turning a deaf ear, which is frustrating." This is interpreted as aiming at Chong, arguing they should compete on policy competence rather than name recognition.