People Power Party lawmaker tours Bundang, Greater Seoul, Chungcheong, Gangwon Province, Busan and beyond; stumps at key by-election battlegrounds

People Power Party co-honorary campaign committee chairman Ahn Cheol-soo joins hands with Busan mayoral candidate Park Heong-joon and co-chairman Kim Moon-soo at a local elections launch rally on May 21. [Yonhap]
People Power Party co-honorary campaign committee chairman Ahn Cheol-soo joins hands with Busan mayoral candidate Park Heong-joon and co-chairman Kim Moon-soo at a local elections launch rally on May 21. [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said Monday he had wrapped up a month-long nationwide campaign blitz, stumping at battleground races across the country ahead of Wednesday's local elections.

Ahn said he had closely tended to campaign activities in his own constituency of Bundang-gap while also crisscrossing the country to fulfill more than 50 campaign appearances and official election events on behalf of the party.

He credited his broad public profile and appeal to centrist voters with helping sway undecided voters in the final stretch of the campaign, and said he had led the charge in expanding the party's reach and driving it toward victory.

The campaign tour spanned the Seoul mayoral and Busan mayoral races — two of the most closely watched contests in the local elections — as well as the National Assembly by-election in Busan's Buk-gu-gap constituency. Beyond those headline races, Ahn visited candidates across Greater Seoul, the Chungcheong provinces, Gangwon Province and the Yeongnam region. He appeared at rallies for metropolitan and basic-level administrative chiefs as well as local council candidates.

Ahn served as honorary campaign committee chairman for a string of candidates: Park Min-sik in Busan's Buk-gu-gap, Lee Yong in Hanam-gap, North Chungcheong Province gubernatorial candidate Kim Young-hwan, Busan mayoral candidate Park Heong-joon, Incheon mayoral candidate Yoo Jeong-bok and Yongin Special City mayoral candidate Lee Sang-il.

He also served as co-campaign committee chairman for Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja, Seongnam mayoral candidate Shin Sang-jin and Incheon Yeonsu-gap Assembly candidate Park Jong-jin, and took on a fundraising committee chair role for Gyeonggi provincial council candidate Song Gyeong-taek — running in Seongnam's Bundang-gu sixth district — and Pyeongtaek mayoral candidate Cha Hwa-yeol.

At every campaign stop, Ahn urged voters to see the local elections as more than a choice of municipal leaders. "This election is an inflection point that will determine the future of our regions for the next 10 to 20 years," he said. "In the face of the economic crisis confronting South Korea and the global competition for technological supremacy, we need capable people who can lead regional development."

He added that a month of traveling the country had brought him face to face with citizens' urgent concerns about the economy and livelihoods. "In times like these, candidates with proven ability and drive are the ones who must be chosen," he said.

Ahn closed with a call for voter turnout. "Democracy is completed through the ballot," he said. "Your precious vote changes the future of your region and your country — please go to the polls on June 3 and exercise your sovereignty with pride."


rimsclub@heraldcorp.com