Woo Sang-ho, Chung Bong-ju agree to unify Seoul mayor candidacy

Woo Sang-ho of the Democratic Party of Korea, a candidate for the Seoul mayoral election on April 7, and backup candidate Chung Bong-ju of the Open Democratic Party have agreed to have a single candidate based on the premise of integrating the two parties. Backup candidate Park Young-sun of the Democratic Party of Korea also agreed to unify candidates, but the ruling party leadership is still contemplating on it. 　

Woo and Chung met at the assembly hall of the National Assembly on Sunday and announced that they agree to have one candidate based on the recognition that the two parties shared the root. It means they will not only have a single candidate, but also proceed with unifying the Democratic Party of Korea and the Open Democratic Party. 　

“The sooner the better,” Park also told reporters. “The decision hinges upon the party leadership, but I agree with it,” she said about integration of the two parties. 　

But the ruling party leaders are prudent about unifying candidacy and the parties. “We need to consider competitiveness in the election as swing voters may be swayed by the unification of the parties,” said an insider of the ruling party. Another reason of their discretion is a projection that the Open Democratic Party would support the ruling party in the lead up to the February National Assembly session.


Dong-Jun Heo hungry@donga.com