Seoul Mayor to announce presidential bid ‘soon’
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, a potential presidential candidate on the liberal opposition side, said Wednesday that he would “soon” announce whether he will run for the 2017 presidential election.
“I will carefully consider my decision and tell you my conclusion soon,” said Park in a radio interview.
Asked about whether he would make that announcement within this year -- the election is slated to take place in December 2017 -- the mayor refused to offer a specific timeline. “I think we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said.
Since being re-elected as mayor in June 2014, the activist-turned politician has been regarded as one of the candidates for the presidential ticket of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea. Former President Lee Myung-bak was a Seoul mayor when he decided to run for the top office.
Park Won-soon, Mayor of Seoul. (Yonhap)According to a survey released Monday by local pollster Realmeter, Park ranked fourth in the list for the most favored presidential candidates -- behind former Minjoo leader Moon Jae-in, and former People’s Party leader Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon topped the list.
Rep. Ahn reiterated his pledge to transform what he viewed as “antiquated” politics in South Korea, asserting that the next year’s election would witness “big changes” that defied conventional wisdom.
“I will devote myself to changing the politics that the people have been fed up with,” said Ahn in a speech Tuesday at a community college in Seoul. “Any predictions based on conventional wisdom or current polling will prove wrong.”
The former People’s Party leader also expressed confidence about the prospect of his centrist party which emerged as the third-biggest party in the latest general election. Ahn resigned as its party leader in June over a bribery scandal involving his fellow lawmakers Reps. Kim Su-min and Park Sun-sook.
The entrepreneur-turned-politician withdrew his bid for the Seoul mayorship in 2011 to endorse Park. In the 2012 presidential election, Ahn also yielded to Moon, then presidential candidate from the main opposition United Democratic Party, who was defeated by Park Geun-hye, the conservative flag-bearer and now the president.
Meanwhile, speculation over Ban’s bid for the 2017 election continued to roil political circles. Despite the popularity, the UN official and former Korean foreign minister has been vague about his presidential ambitions.
Local newspapers reported Wednesday that former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil, who met the UN top official during his trip to Korea in May, told his aides that Ban appeared to “make up his mind" to run.
The 90-year-old retired politician, once known as a power broker, has publicly endorsed Ban.
By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)
“I will carefully consider my decision and tell you my conclusion soon,” said Park in a radio interview.
Asked about whether he would make that announcement within this year -- the election is slated to take place in December 2017 -- the mayor refused to offer a specific timeline. “I think we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves,” he said.
Since being re-elected as mayor in June 2014, the activist-turned politician has been regarded as one of the candidates for the presidential ticket of the main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea. Former President Lee Myung-bak was a Seoul mayor when he decided to run for the top office.
Rep. Ahn reiterated his pledge to transform what he viewed as “antiquated” politics in South Korea, asserting that the next year’s election would witness “big changes” that defied conventional wisdom.
“I will devote myself to changing the politics that the people have been fed up with,” said Ahn in a speech Tuesday at a community college in Seoul. “Any predictions based on conventional wisdom or current polling will prove wrong.”
The former People’s Party leader also expressed confidence about the prospect of his centrist party which emerged as the third-biggest party in the latest general election. Ahn resigned as its party leader in June over a bribery scandal involving his fellow lawmakers Reps. Kim Su-min and Park Sun-sook.
The entrepreneur-turned-politician withdrew his bid for the Seoul mayorship in 2011 to endorse Park. In the 2012 presidential election, Ahn also yielded to Moon, then presidential candidate from the main opposition United Democratic Party, who was defeated by Park Geun-hye, the conservative flag-bearer and now the president.
Meanwhile, speculation over Ban’s bid for the 2017 election continued to roil political circles. Despite the popularity, the UN official and former Korean foreign minister has been vague about his presidential ambitions.
Local newspapers reported Wednesday that former Prime Minister Kim Jong-pil, who met the UN top official during his trip to Korea in May, told his aides that Ban appeared to “make up his mind" to run.
The 90-year-old retired politician, once known as a power broker, has publicly endorsed Ban.
By Yeo Jun-suk (jasonyeo@heraldcorp.com)
(责任编辑:行业动态)
相关内容
- 两个改造提升项目进入收尾阶段
- Yoon cancels attendance at nuclear reactor opening ceremony amid cold wave
- 新规来了!普通纪念币发行将进行市场化改革
- TikTok's search suggests misinformation almost 20 percent of the time, says report
- NASA's new plan keeps Starliner astronauts in space until 2025
- Blinken condemns Russia
- Water is best served room temperature, not ice cold. Do not @ me.
- 汉源葡萄成熟 游湖摘果趣味无穷
- Facebook AI equated Black men with 'primates'. Cue a toothless apology.
- Europe now has a huge AI gap, for better or for worse
- Federal judge orders Social Security Administration to pay survivors benefits to surviving same
- What to do if you run out of dog poop bags
- 交警冒雨保畅 保障市民出行安全
推荐文章
-
Max B. Sawicky ,August 6, 2024 Courting Di ...[详细]
-
Federal judge orders Social Security Administration to pay survivors benefits to surviving same
Popular in News & Politics The One Thing Donald Trump Can’t Escape i ...[详细] -
Federal judge orders Social Security Administration to pay survivors benefits to surviving same
Popular in News & Politics The One Thing Donald Trump Can’t Escape i ...[详细] -
黄嘉慧:农安检测要“吹毛求疵”_南方+_南方plus“对于药物残留检测来说,要知其然,更要知其所以然。”“检测工作的重点和难点还是确保检测结果的准确可靠。检测结果的准确可靠,要从人机料法环测几方面着手 ...[详细]
-
驿站备有消暑物品供大家取用本报讯8月25日中午,烈日当头,热浪滚滚。环卫工人王芳走进雨城区青江街道汉碑路社区户外劳动服务站点汉驿站,从冰箱里拿出当天的午饭。“我一上午都在马路两侧来回保洁,中午到驿站休 ...[详细]
-
How to create Tab Groups in Safari with iOS 15
It's okay to admit that you constantly have too many tabs open in Safari — we're all guilty of ...[详细] -
Ideological dispute deepening on NK leader's Seoul visit
People who support North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's visit to Seoul participate in an event to welco ...[详细] -
Think tank: 2019 to be 'watershed' year for peace on Korean Peninsula
The year of 2019 will likely mark a "watershed" year for ongoing diplomacy for denuclearization and ...[详细] -
Students get free entry at second Rawalpindi Test but what’s the catch?
ListentoarticleThe Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced free entry for students to the second ...[详细] -
Pele health 'improving progressively': hospital
SAO PAULO:Pele's health is "improving progressively," his doctors said Tuesday, a week ...[详细]
热点阅读
随机内容
- Best smart home deals this week
- 汉源县:聚焦重点工作精准施策 开启教育扶贫“加速度”
- Spicy air fryer nuts are a tasty snack and super easy to make
- 高速磁浮 激荡速度与梦想
- AirPods Pro 3 and AirPods 4 may get revealed at the Apple September event
- Federal judge orders Social Security Administration to pay survivors benefits to surviving same
- The size and price of every iPhone ever released