June 3 elections take shape: DPK’s presidential aides vs. PPP's incumbents

“With less than 30 days remaining until the June 3 local elections, the two main parties have finalized their candidate lineups. While the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has fielded many fresh faces, the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) is largely relying on incumbent mayors and governors. Out of 17 metropolitan cities and provinces in the 2022 elections, the then-ruling PPP won a landslide victory, securing 12 regions, including major cities like Seoul, Busan and Incheon. However, since President Lee Jae Myung took power last year after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was impeached for leading an insurrection linked to his martial law declaration, the approval ratings of Yoon's party, the PPP, have continued to drop, at one point plummeting to 15 percent in a poll. Amid the low support ratings, the conservative party is struggling to find promising candidates, ultimately fielding 11 incumbent heads of cities and provinces. In contrast, many of the DPK's candidates are figures close to the president, whose approval rating has stood at around 60 percent in recent months. Thi

Summary generated from the RSS feed of Korea Times Southkorea. All article rights belong to the original publisher. Click through to read the full piece on www.koreatimes.co.kr.