Hong Eui-rak Declares No Run for Daegu Mayoral Election

[아이뉴스24 이창재 기자] Hong Eui-rak, a former member of the Democratic Party of Korea, officially declared that he will not run in the Daegu mayoral election in June.

Former lawmaker Hong said on his Facebook page on the 10th, “I have decided not to continue running for mayor of Daegu. This choice is not an avoidance, but a judgment. It is not a waiver, but a standard.”

Previously, on the 20th of last month, former lawmaker Hong asked former Prime Minister Kim Boo-gyeom to run for the Daegu mayoral election and announced that he would suspend his election campaign depending on the results.

Regarding the background for not running, former lawmaker Hong explained, “Political change is not achieved by individual decisions alone,” and “No matter how correct the awareness of the problem and clear direction is, if there is not a center that can carry that will together, the challenge can become another burden.” He added, “I decided not to ignore that reality.”

He also said, “During this selection process, we have reaffirmed the structural limitations we face,” and diagnosed, “The reality is that good intentions turn into misunderstandings, raising issues is consumed by division, and voices trying to talk about the future are easily isolated in front of the existing order.”

Former lawmaker Hong said, “I am stepping down, but I leave behind questions,” and emphasized, “What kind of city should Daegu be? What needs to be changed before it can survive? What is needed now is to correct the direction.”

With former lawmaker Hong’s declaration that he will not run, the Democratic Party of Korea’s Daegu City Party is in a situation where it must find a new Daegu mayoral candidate. There has been constant discussion of former Prime Minister Kim Boo-gyeom running for office in local political circles, but former Prime Minister Kim recently announced in a phone call with Yonhap News that he had no intention of running.

In relation to this, an official from the Democratic Party said, “Former Prime Minister Kim has publicly announced his intention not to run, but within the party, requests to run are still being made through behind-the-scenes contacts,” and “No final decision has been made yet.”