Yoon spokesperson may run for Gyeonggi governor

Politics

Published: 05 Apr. 2022, 18:40

Yoon spokesperson may run for Gyeonggi governor

People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Eun-hye [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Kim Eun-hye resigned as President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol’s spokesperson Tuesday amid speculation she will run for Gyeonggi governor in June, adding another contender to the high-stakes race.

The first-term lawmaker, who formerly worked as a reporter and anchor at local broadcaster MBC, will be the closest person to Yoon to run if she joins the race. But it remains to be seen whether that association will hand her victory.

Kim currently represents Bundang District A in Seongnam, Gyeonggi.

The election for the Gyeonggi governorship, which will be held on June 1, already has two strong contenders with significant approval ratings: Yoo Seong-min, a former four-term conservative lawmaker, and Kim Dong-yeon, who served as the deputy prime minister and finance minister during the left-leaning Moon Jae-in administration.

Both Yoo and Kim were part of the 2022 presidential race. Yoo lost to Yoon in the PPP primaries. Kim, who ran as a candidate for the minor New Wave Party, which he founded, dropped out of the race just a week before the election and endorsed Lee Jae-myung, the candidate for the ruling Democratic Party (DP).

Recent polls have shown neck-and-neck support for Yoo and Kim in the race.

In a regular briefing of Yoon’s presidential transition team Tuesday, PPP Rep. Kim refused to offer a clear-cut answer as to whether she would run, saying she has yet to make up her mind. Kim told reporters that it was “inappropriate” to discuss her future plans when the incoming Yoon administration was “solemnly” orchestrating national policy measures. She said she would announce her decision soon.

Kim’s role as Yoon’s spokesperson has been taken by Rep. Bae Hyun-jin, a PPP lawmaker representing Songpa District B in southern Seoul. Bae was also an anchor at MBC.

The race for Gyeonggi governor will be part of the June 1 local elections, in which 17 gubernatorial and metropolitan mayoral posts will be up for grabs, along with thousands of local legislative and administrative posts. The races for Seoul mayor and Gyeonggi governor are considered the most crucial, representing the most populous constituencies.

DP presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung served as governor of Gyeonggi from July 2018 to October 2021 before he stepped down to run for president. A deputy governor is now serving as acting governor of Gyeonggi.

Sources in the PPP say they aren’t sure how the recently concluded presidential election will affect the outcomes of the June elections, due mainly because Yoon won by the smallest margin ever seen in a Korean presidential election.

Yoon won Seoul but lost to Lee in Incheon and Gyeonggi. Lee won 50.9 percent of the votes in Gyeonggi, while Yoon won 45.6 percent.

In Tuesday’s briefing, PPP Rep. Kim brushed off speculation about Yoon’s influence on the party’s preparations for the June elections, saying all efforts of planning and execution would be led by PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok and other core party members.

Yoo, a key contender in the Gyeonggi governor election, told a local radio show Tuesday that he wasn’t sure whether Kim had Yoon’s backing but stressed he wasn’t intimidated by the added competition. In a press conference the same day, Yoo said he would “inherit” former Gyeonggi Gov. Lee’s good policies but “reform” bad ones.

In a Realmeter survey conducted last Friday and Saturday of 1,009 Gyeonggi residents, 37.6 percent of respondents said they would vote for Yoo, while 36 percent chose former Deputy Prime Minister Kim. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points. The confidence level was 95 percent.

BY LEE SUNG-EUN [lee.sungeun@joongang.co.kr]