The Democratic Party of Korea has confirmed former Seongdong District Chief Chong Won-o as its Seoul mayoral candidate for the June 3 local elections.
Democratic Party Central Election Management Commission Chairperson So Byung-hoon said on the 9th at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, that the former district chief was elected the candidate after winning a majority in the vote count of the main primary for Seoul mayor. Lawmakers Park Ju-min and Jun Hyeon-hee were eliminated.
The Democratic Party held the main primary from the 7th to the 9th, reflecting 50% each from a vote by dues-paying party members and a general public opinion poll. Chairperson So said, "We will not disclose the ranking and vote share by candidate under the rules," adding, "In this main primary, the top vote-getter won a majority, so the nomination was finalized without a runoff."
Immediately after the announcement of his nomination, Chong wrote on Facebook, "Thank you deeply for choosing me as the Democratic Party's candidate for Seoul mayor," adding, "Now we are one. With the Democratic Party's tradition and spirit of working together, we will build a better Seoul."
Chong said, "We will hold Oh Se-hoon's 10 years of incompetence to account, and we will make sure to complete the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration in Seoul," adding, "We will build a Seoul that changes citizens' lives and answers with results."
Candidate Chong, who began as Democratic Party staff, served three terms as Seongdong District chief, gaining 12 years of administrative experience. He is credited with successfully leading urban regeneration in Seongdong District centered on Seongsu-dong. In an interview with ChosunBiz in January, Chong said, "We focused on how to draw people to Seongsu-dong, and through anti-gentrification policies and a local government ordinance supporting red-brick architecture, we made Seongsu-dong a 'cool' neighborhood."
Chong surged as a ruling-bloc Seoul mayoral contender last December when President Lee Jae-myung cited the statistic "Seongdong District resident satisfaction 92.9%" and posted on social media, "It seems District Chief Chong Won-o is indeed doing well." Sitting lawmakers including Lee Hae-sik, Chae Hyun-il, Oh Ki-hyeong, Lee Jeong-heon and Park Min-kyu joined the campaign en masse, lending support.