The Democratic Party and the Progressive Party reached an agreement on May 15 to unify their candidates for the Ulsan mayoral election in the upcoming June 3 local elections. Kim Sang-wook of the Democratic Party and Kim Jong-hoon of the Progressive Party will be selected as a single candidate through a 100% opinion poll. This agreement follows the withdrawal of Hwang Myung-pil, the candidate from the Justice Party, the previous day, effectively concluding the unification of progressive candidates.
Jo Seung-rae, Secretary General of the Democratic Party, stated at a press conference regarding the unification that this decision was made to enhance the chances of victory, even if it is just by 1%, to revive the heart of Korea's industrial capital. Shin Chang-hyun, Secretary General of the Progressive Party, added that they have decided to join forces to eliminate the forces of insurrection in Ulsan, the heart of Korea's labor movement.
The two parties began negotiations for unification last month and continued intensive discussions in May, ultimately reaching this agreement. However, they acknowledged that it would be challenging to complete the unification process by the candidate registration deadline. Jo mentioned that they aim to finalize the process before the official campaign period begins on May 21.
Meanwhile, the unified progressive candidate will compete against Kim Du-gyeom from the People Power Party and independent candidate Park Maeng-woo. Although Kim and Park have announced a halt to their unification efforts within the conservative camp, there are discussions about the possibility of resuming those efforts due to rapidly changing circumstances.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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