The People Power Party candidate recommendation management committee for the June 3 local elections began nomination interviews on the 10th at the Yeouido party headquarters for major metropolitan mayoral hopefuls including those for Seoul and Daegu.
On the first day of interviews, the first order was the Daegu region, a "conservative stronghold." A total of nine preliminary candidates threw their hats in the ring, led by five incumbent lawmakers — Joo Ho-young, Yoon Jae-ok, Choo Kyung-ho, Yoo Young-ha, and Choi Eun-seok. Vetting was conducted in three rounds, with groups of three.
The interview consisted of a 1-minute self-introduction, a 3-minute policy presentation on what would be pushed in the first 100 days after taking office on the premise of election to change the region, and a question-and-answer session. In particular, to ensure equal time for each candidate, timers were set, adding to the tension.
The preliminary candidates each stressed that they were the right person to resolve the region's long-pending projects. Joo Ho-young, a six-term lawmaker who is serving as National Assembly vice speaker, met with reporters right after the interview and said, "Due to the absence of the previous mayor, all pending issues have been put on hold," adding, "I said the most important thing is to sort out the drift on pending issues."
Four-term lawmaker Yoon Jae-ok said, "I explained in detail how to resolve long-stalled pending issues and what new leadership is needed for a great transformation of Daegu," while three-term lawmaker Choo Kyung-ho said, "To resolve the pending issues of the Daegu economy, I will immediately move to draw up an extra (supplementary budget)."
Lee Jin-sook, who served as Chairperson of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC) under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and is making a first bid for elected office in Daegu, also said, "My strength is drive," adding, "I will not yield to any resistance or pressure and will get the job done."
First-term lawmaker Yoo Young-ha said, "It is time to stop politics that amount only to slogans. I fully explained what to do, how, and on what timeline," while first-term lawmaker Choi Eun-seok said, "I said we need to innovate industry and corporations so that corporations can create good jobs and thereby resolve the fundamental problems of the Daegu economy."
After finishing the Daegu interviews on the day, the committee will proceed with interviews for applicants for nominations for metropolitan mayors in Seoul, Daejeon, Sejong, and Gyeonggi, as well as for basic-level heads in Gyeonggi. As the committee considers a fully open audition for two to three strategically competitive regions, Daegu is reportedly a strong candidate to host an audition.