"I will build a unified Incheon Democratic Party"

Lawmaker unveils four pledges including '2028 general election victory project'

Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]
Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea [provided by the lawmaker's office]

Rep. Heo Jong-sik of the Democratic Party of Korea, who represents Incheon's Dong-gu and Michuhol-gu A district, officially announced his candidacy Sunday for chair of the party's Incheon Metropolitan City chapter. He presented "integration and balanced development" as his vision and unveiled four pledges to realize it.

In his announcement, Heo said the Incheon Democratic Party faces three tasks: supporting the Lee Jae Myung administration, providing stable backing for Mayor Park Chan-dae's city government, and preparing for the 2028 general election. "The next two years will be a critical period that determines the future of the Incheon Democratic Party," he said.

He also recalled that right after the 2022 presidential election, he was the first to propose that Lee — then a senior adviser to the party — run in Incheon. "There were critics who said it was premature, but I believed that in a moment of crisis, a politician must choose the future rather than follow the present," he said. "Now the Incheon Democratic Party must unite its strength to firmly support the Lee Jae Myung administration and Mayor Park Chan-dae's city government."

Heo also proposed that the process of selecting the new chapter chair serve as an opportunity to demonstrate a fresh start and unity for the Incheon Democratic Party. "The will of party members matters most," he said. "If party members and the Incheon chapter come up with a reasonable arrangement for a consensus nomination, I will follow it without any conditions. For the sake of party unity, I am willing to step aside."

He added that if party members choose a primary election instead, he will compete with confidence. "Whether it is a consensus nomination or a primary, I will respect the will of the members, accept the outcome, and contribute to building a united Incheon Democratic Party," he said.

Heo said he believes politics should be a place where the vulnerable can find support. "Politics is not about defeating people — it is about bringing people together and reaching out first to those who are struggling the most," he said. "For that kind of politics, the Democratic Party must first become one."

He stressed that the values the Incheon Democratic Party should pursue are integration and balanced development. "The most important duty of the chapter chair is to build a united Democratic Party that transcends internal divisions and to create an Incheon where older urban centers and new towns grow together," he said.

To that end, Heo presented four pledges: building One Team Incheon, launching a 2028 general election victory project, strengthening the city chapter and local constituency committees, and carrying out a local constituency committee innovation project.

"The chapter chair is not a position that represents a particular faction but one that connects all party members," Heo said. "I will put consideration before authority, persuasion before directives, and cooperation before confrontation, and build an Incheon chapter that all members create together."

He added that he would build a strong Incheon Democratic Party in which all members participate, lay the groundwork for victory in the 2028 general election, and repay citizens with politics that changes their lives.


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