Choo Kyung-ho raises his fist after answering reporters’ questions at the People Power Party's Daegu office, Sunday, following his selection as its candidate for Daegu mayor in the June 3 local elections. Yonhap

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Sunday confirmed Rep. Choo Kyung-ho as its candidate for Daegu mayor in the June 3 local elections, setting up a two-way race with Kim Boo-kyum, the candidate for the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).

Choo, who served as deputy prime minister and minister of economy and finance from 2022 to 2023 under ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, secured the nomination through a combination of party member voting and a public opinion poll conducted over Friday and Saturday.

PPP nomination committee chief Rep. Park Duk-hyum announced Choo's candidacy during a briefing at the party’s headquarters in Yeouido. “The final result was calculated by converting both the party member votes and the public survey into a unified percentage based on valid votes, and then applying additional weighting factors,” he said.

The nomination comes after weeks of internal friction within the conservative PPP, which had raised the possibility of independent bids, have largely subsided. Former lawmaker Joo Ho-young’s legal challenge to his exclusion from the primary was rejected, while former Korea Communications Commission Chair Lee Jin-sook dropped her plan to run independently. Party officials say the resolution of these disputes removes concerns over vote splitting and allows the party to shift its campaigning into full election mode.

With the nomination finalized, the Daegu race is expected to become a direct contest between Choo and Kim, a former prime minister and a key figure in the ruling DPK.

Speaking to reporters after his nomination, Choo acknowledged criticism of the party’s recent infighting.

“I apologize. Politics should be a source of strength, but we have caused concern,” he said.

He also stressed unity going into the campaign, saying, “From this moment on, we are one team.”

Kim Boo-kyum, Daegu mayoral candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea, discusses local issues with university students over a meal at Kyungpook National University’s Global Plaza food court in Daegu, Thursday. Yonhap

Source: Korea Times News