Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, visited the Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul on the morning of the 30th to meet merchants and check on everyday economic conditions. Democratic Party of Korea Seoul mayoral candidates Park Ju-min, Chun Hyun-hee and Chong Won-o all turned out for the visit to hear public sentiment with Jung.
After finishing a supreme council meeting attended by all three Democratic Party of Korea Seoul mayoral candidates, Jung headed straight to the Noryangjin Fish Market. He walked through the market, speaking directly with merchants. He asked one vendor, "Don't you have webfoot octopus?" and when recommended ark clams, he followed up, "Aren't ark clams at the tail end of the season?" keeping the conversation flowing naturally. He also promoted shop names by calling out each store's name himself.
Jung and the Seoul mayoral candidates toured the market together and made purchases. After Jung smiled and shook hands with a merchant and heard that one octopus cost 20,000 won, candidate Jung said, "I'll buy it," and Park added strength to the purchases by saying, "I'll buy one." Chun also bought 3 kilograms of oysters at one stall next to Jung.
At one stall, Jung Chung-rae looked at a merchant's knife and said, "The knife is sharp," and Park Ju-min lifted the mood by quipping, "We're sharpening our knives ahead of the local elections." At another stall, he stepped inside, picked up a knife, cleaned a cutlassfish and chopped it into pieces, showing a "surprise performance." During this, he encouraged Dongjak District mayoral candidate Ryu Sam-young to buy by saying, "Buy it for 90,000 won."
After finishing their market visit, the candidates expressed sympathy for the hardships the merchants had raised and emphasized the need for support, each moving to shore up public sentiment. Park said, "We heard many say business is really bad," and added, "The government is working on a supplementary budget and measures on fuel prices, and we will prepare measures for those in the fisheries industry so we can help, even a little."
Chun said, "They said 'this is the first opening' and voiced their difficulties, which really broke my heart," adding, "I believe politics and administration should ensure that our market merchants can truly stretch their legs and live in comfort."
Jung said, "I felt a bit frustrated that some of the things merchants said could be resolved right away are still not being addressed," adding, "For issues like the access route between the subway exit and the market, the Seoul Metropolitan Government, the district office and the police can coordinate immediately, and if I'm elected, I will move it forward step by step."