AHN CHEOL-SOO TO RUN FOR SEOUL MAYOR

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Ahn Cheol-soo, head of the minor People’s Party, has declared that he will run for the Seoul mayoral by-election slated for next April. Once regarded as a presidential candidate for the opposition camp, Ahn made it clear that he would be the unified mayoral candidate for the conservative bloc. It remains to be seen what would be the decision of Kim Chong-in, interim leader of the main opposition People Power Party, who had said that Ahn should join the PPP first if he wants to represent the entire opposition.

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People’s Party leader Ahn Cheol-soo has been flatly denying the possibility of running for the Seoul mayoral race. But he suddenly announced his bid for the Seoul mayoral by-election, apparently giving up his aspiration for the presidency. The reason for his bid was that a change of government would be impossible if the conservative opposition lost in the next year’s Seoul mayoral race. Ahn said he wants to become a "unified candidate" representing the opposition bloc. He also hinted that he might join the main opposition People Power Party and run in their preliminary.

[Soundbite] AHN CHEOL-SOO(PEOPLE’S PARTY) : "I don’t care about my advantages or preliminary formats as long as it is a fair competition. I will be open-minded and think about the best way to win."

However, the PPP's interim chief Kim Chong-in has been hesitant in joining forces with Ahn's party.

[Soundbite] KIM CHONG-IN(INTERIM LEADER, PPP(NOV. 16)) : "Does the opposition have a reason to form solidarity? I don’t understand what you mean by the opposition. So I don’t want to get involved in that issue."

However, other mayoral contenders from the PPP welcomed Ahn's bid. Meanwhile, it is still unclear who will enter the mayoral race from the ruling Democratic Party. The only member that has officially declared his bid is Woo Sang-ho.

[Soundbite] WOO SANG-HO(DEMOCRATIC PARTY(DEC. 13)) : "This election will determine whether President Moon Jae-in would be regarded as a successful president or if the opposition party’s fault-finding would muddle the rest of his term."

Park Ju-min is still considering his chances and Minister of SMEs and Startups Park Young-sun appears to be keeping her eye on public opinion. There's also the possibility of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae, who recently offered to resign, running for Seoul mayor. As of Monday, nearly 320,000 people have signed a petition urging the president to keep her as justice minister, indicating the Democratic Party supporters’ growing confidence in her.