Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will formally declare his bid for Daegu mayor ahead of the June local elections, party officials said. He plans to make the announcement at the National Assembly and in the southeastern city on Monday. The move is seen as the Democratic Party's (DP) effort to challenge the conservative stronghold.
Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, who served from 2021-22 under former President Moon Jae-in, has also held the post of interior minister. A four-term lawmaker from the ruling Democratic Party (DP), he hails from Sangju near Daegu. He unsuccessfully ran for Daegu mayor in 2014 but won a parliamentary seat in a key Daegu district in 2016.
Party officials said Kim had repeatedly declined offers to run for Daegu mayor but decided after the DP pledged full support and focused on the city's economic revitalization. Following the announcement on Monday, he plans to register a change of address to his late father's home in Daegu. His campaign office occupies the first three floors of a city building, with the first floor as an open space for citizens.
"During this election period, we plan to conduct a campaign centered on the idea that the citizens of Daegu are establishing Daegu Mayor Kim Boo-kyum, not that the Democratic Party is establishing Kim Boo-kyum," an aide to the former prime minister said.
The DP's selection comes as the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) struggles with its Daegu candidate amid internal rifts. The PPP excluded former National Assembly Vice Speaker Joo Ho-young and Lee Jin-sook, former broadcasting watchdog chief under ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, from the primary.
