Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will run for Daegu mayor in the June 3 local elections.
According to the Democratic Party of Korea's Daegu chapter and others on the 29th, the former prime minister will make an official candidacy declaration at 10 a.m. on the 30th at the National Assembly's press center in Seoul. He will then announce his run at 3 p.m. at 2.28 Memorial Central Park on Dongseong-ro in Jung-gu, Daegu.
The Democratic Party's Daegu chapter said, "As Minister of the Interior and Safety, the former prime minister designated the Feb. 28 Democracy Movement as a national commemoration day," adding, "It reflects the intention to 'once again boldly set out on the path of change together' in a place where the pride of Daegu citizens and the spirit of change are alive."
The former prime minister was said to have firmed up the decision to run after active persuasion from the party and receiving sweeping commitments for revitalizing Daegu's economy. With the former prime minister making his bid official, the Daegu mayoral race, with roughly 60 days left, has heated up further.
The former prime minister was born in Sangju, North Gyeongsang, graduated from Gyeongbuk High School in Daegu, and majored in political science at Seoul National University. In the 20th general election, he caused an upset by winning in Suseong-gu Gap, considered Daegu's symbolic No. 1 political district.
Meanwhile, the People Power Party will hold a debate on the 30th for six candidates participating in the primary, including four incumbent lawmakers—Yoon Jae-ok, Choo Kyung-ho, Yoo Young-ha, and Choi Eun-seok—along with former lawmaker Hong Seok-jun and former Daegu Dong-gu District Mayor Lee Jae-man. Former Korea Communications Commission Chair Lee Jin-sook and lawmaker Joo Ho-young are continuing an internal feud in protest of the People Power Party nomination committee's cutoff (primary exclusion) decision.