Chong Won-o, chief of Seoul’s Seongdong-gu district, announced Sunday that he will run for Seoul mayor in the June 3 local election, becoming the sixth candidate from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea to enter the race.
He announced his bid during a talk co-hosted by Democratic Party lawmakers Lee Hae-sik and Chai Hyun-il in Seoul.
“I believe I’ve completed preparations for the race,” Chong said.
Chong has led the Seongdong-gu district government since 2014 and is the only district chief in Seoul to win three consecutive terms.
Despite his long tenure in local administration, Chong had rarely drawn nationwide attention. His profile, however, rose sharply after President Lee Jae Myung publicly praised his performance late last year.
In December, Lee posted on his X account about a media report that Seongdong-gu recorded a 92.9 percent satisfaction rate in a resident survey on district administration.
“Mayor Chong must be doing an excellent job,” Lee wrote.
Following Lee’s remarks — widely interpreted in political circles as a sign of support — Chong began topping several hypothetical opinion polls on the Seoul mayoral race.
Some surveys even showed him running neck and neck with incumbent Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon of the main opposition People Power Party, who has served three terms in the post and is widely expected to seek a fourth.
Earlier in February, Chong also stepped into a policy dispute with Oh.
After President Lee raised questions on social media about development issues near Jongmyo Shrine and housing supply plans around Nowon District in northeastern Seoul, Oh issued a rebuttal criticizing what he described as “contradictions and double standards” by the Lee government.
While Lee did not respond to Oh’s remarks, Chong soon countered the mayor’s argument, aligning himself with the president’s position and criticizing the city’s development approach.
Born in 1968, Chong entered politics in 1995, joining the campaign of Yang Jae-ho, then a Democratic Party candidate for Yangcheon-gu mayor, and later served as his aide after Yang’s victory. Chong did not hold elected office until he was elected Seongdong-gu mayor in 2014.
It remains to be seen whether Chong will secure the Democratic Party’s nomination, as he must first compete in an intraparty primary.
Other Democratic Party figures who have declared bids include four-term lawmakers Park Hong-keun and Seo Young-kyo; three-term lawmakers Park Ju-min and Jeon Hyun-heui; and second-term lawmaker Kim Young-bae.
Under election law, public officials seeking to run in the June 3 local elections must resign from their posts by March 5 — 90 days before election day.
flylikekite@heraldcorp.com
