People Power Party Ulsan mayoral candidate Kim Doo-kyum on the 29th made official a bid for a second term.
Kim held a press conference to announce his candidacy that afternoon at Taehwa River National Garden and said, "If you entrust me with a new four years, I will complete Ulsan as the industrial capital and the artificial intelligence (AI) capital."
Kim said, "Over the past four years, under the goal of 'creating a great new Ulsan,' we overcame crises with citizens and laid the foundation for a rebound," adding, "Now we need a new four years to complete those results."
He cited as key accomplishments in the eighth popularly elected term attracting 36 trillion won in investment and creating jobs, lifting greenbelt restrictions, leading the enactment of the distributed energy act, securing an additional 500 billion won a year in general local allocation tax, attracting the SK-Amazon Web Services (AWS) data center, the inscription of the Bangucheon petroglyphs as a UNESCO World Heritage site, and winning the bid to host the International Garden Expo.
Kim said, "We will focus our capabilities so that Ulsan can serve as the bridgehead for one of the world's top three AI powers and as Korea's AI capital," adding, "We will drive an additional 100 trillion won of investment into data centers and foster new industries by attracting related sectors such as semiconductors and secondary batteries."
He added, "We will introduce a citizens' pension so that workers, the protagonists of Ulsan, can fill income gaps after retirement, and we will approach pregnancy, childbirth, and childcare with the stance that the city takes responsibility."
Kim also said, "If you entrust me with a new four years, I will make Ulsan a vibrant city with a settled population of 1.2 million and a daytime population of 2 million."
Kim initially planned to begin campaigning after registering as a preliminary candidate early this month. But citing a pledge to stabilize high oil prices and inflation stemming from the Middle East situation, he delayed registering as a preliminary candidate by about a month.
Meanwhile, with the incumbent mayor, Kim, registering as a preliminary candidate, the Ulsan city government said Administrative Vice Mayor Seo Nam-gyo will serve as acting Ulsan mayor from that day until June 3, the date of the local election.