The Tamesis
March 12, 2026
Seoul – Seoul mayor is the most high-profile local government position, with less than three months to go and the race remains clouded. Several prominent figures in the ruling bloc, as well as relatively unknown figures, have announced their candidacy, while the current mayor of Seoul and other conservative heavyweights are still weighing their options.
Five members of the ruling Democratic Party have officially entered the race and must now pass primaries to participate in local elections on June 3.
One of the hopefuls, Rep. Park Ju-min, has been reelected for three terms since 2016 in the Eunpyeong A constituency in northern Seoul. Park Joo-min, 52, was a human rights lawyer before entering politics. Park Geun-hye is a key supporter of the families of the victims of the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster and an outspoken advocate of liberal agenda items such as prosecutorial reform, and currently chairs the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee.
Kim Young-bae, a two-term lawmaker representing Ward A in Seongbuk, northern Seoul, is another liberal candidate. Before winning his seat in the 2020 general election, 59-year-old Kim Jong-un served as the director of Seongbuk District in Seoul and the Blue House secretary to former liberal President Moon Jae-in.
Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui, another three-term congressman, is the only woman among the liberal contenders. Before entering politics in 2004, the 61-year-old was a licensed attorney and dentist. Jeon served as a lawmaker for the first four years from 2008 to 2012, and in 2016 became the first liberal lawmaker in 24 years to be elected in a constituency in Seoul’s wealthy Gangnam District, considered a conservative stronghold. Jeon led the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission from 2020 to 2023. After her victory in 2024, she returned to Congress and currently represents Seoul’s Midtown East A district.
However, although these three men have served in Congress, they all seem to be overshadowed by Zheng Yuanwu.
Chong is the former mayor of Seongdong-gu, a position he held for 12 years until he resigned earlier this year to run for mayor of Seoul. Chung was thrust into the spotlight last December after President Lee Jae-myung said in an X post that Chung “must be good at his job.” The social media post was widely seen as an endorsement from the president.
With Kim Hyung-nam, director of the Korea Military Human Rights Center, considered to be at a disadvantage in the race, the five liberal candidates will be narrowed to three in a dues-paying party member vote on March 23-24.
The Democratic nominee could be finalized if one of the contenders wins a majority of votes from dues-paying lawmakers and a public vote open April 7-9. Otherwise, the party will hold another round of voting from April 17 to 19 to select the candidate with the highest number of votes.
Attention is focused on the number of debates the party will host. Democrats said they were considering livestreaming up to two debates online, but contenders trailing Zhang said the plan wasn’t enough.
Seoul city-backed broadcaster TBS had tried to host a debate between the liberal contenders, but Chung refused to take part, citing internal campaign rules, prompting a backlash from Park Geun-hye, Kim Jong-un and Chun Chun-un on Wednesday.
In contrast, the conservative opposition People’s Power party has so far seen no significant progress.
It has not yet been decided whether current Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hun will run again, and no current lawmaker or other heavyweight has registered to run.
The People Power Party’s decision on Wednesday to open registration to only two positions – mayor of Seoul and governor of Chungcheongnam Province, without current conservative figures applying to run within the party – sparked confusion and Seoul Mayor Oh remained silent on Wednesday about whether he would run for election after 10 years in office.
Among those who registered to run for Seoul mayor before the People Power Party’s Sunday deadline were former lawmaker Yun Hee-suk; Lee Sang-kyu, a professor of business administration at Kyung Hee University; and Lee Seung-hyun, chief executive of Inpaq Korea, a maker of electronics components.
Councilors Na Kyung-won, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Shin Dong-wook, who were rumored to be interested in the mayoral election, announced before the deadline that they would not participate in the local elections.
Oh has long called for the party to sever ties with former President Yoon Seok-yeol. Yoon Seok-yeol is serving a life sentence for briefly declaring martial law in 2024, and although the party’s 107 lawmakers passed a resolution opposing Yoon Seok-yeol’s return to politics, Oh has yet to clarify his position on the path forward.
