CANDIDATES FOR SEOUL MAYORAL ELECTION

[Anchor Lead]

In an unexpected move, the People Power Party has picked Oh Se-hoon as its candidate for Seoul mayor. The party will likely begin discussions of candidate merger with Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Party. Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's candidate, Park Young-sun, is pushing for a merger with the Transition Korea and Open Democratic parties.

[Pkg]

Ten years ago, Oh Se-hoon stepped down from his post as Seoul mayor following the free school lunch scandal. He is now running for the position again as a People Power Party candidate.

[Soundbite] Oh Se-hoon(PPP's Seoul mayor candidate) : "The results of the poll are both an encouragement and admonition to me. They tell me I should do my best to make up for my past shortcomings to Seoul residents."

The results of a recent poll show Oh's approval ratings exceed 41 percent, more than 5 percentage points ahead of his rival, Na Kyung-won. Factors behind Oh's victory include his experience as a city mayor and emphasis on the so-called moderate expansion power. The People Party, which is to field a single candidate with the People Power Party, said the outcome of the primary was quite unexpected. The two sides will soon designate their representatives to begin negotiations.

[Soundbite] Ahn Cheol-soo(People party candidate) : "I will meet with Mr. Oh soon to discuss constructive cooperation. I hope to see him as soon as possible."

In the Busan mayor primary, Park Hyung-jun obtained 54.4 percent of the votes.

[Soundbite] Park Heong-joon(PPP's candidate for Busan mayor) : "Through these elections held as a result of power abuse, the people of Korea must show justice prevails."

Democratic Party's Park Young-sun, is pushing for a candidate merger with the Transition Korea and Open Democratic parties. She will likely try to field a single candidate with Open Democratic Party candidate Kim Jin-ae, who stepped down from the post of National Assembly member. But it's going to be a bumpy road, as Kim is demanding three debates and an investigation of the debate panel.