Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon rejected a report that incumbent People Power Party leaders in Busan, Ulsan and South Gyeongsang province planned to pursue a separate election strategy, calling it untrue. He also dismissed speculation that they would urge the party not to field a candidate in the Busan Buk-gu A by-election after Han Dong-hoon, the party’s former leader, said he would run as an independent.
In a statement released the same day, Park said the three local government heads had no plan to issue any declaration about holding an independent election in the region.
He added that the leaders had not discussed any request for the party to forgo nominating a candidate in the Busan Buk-gu A by-election.
South Gyeongsang Gov. Park Wan-soo also denied the report, saying he had not held any discussions with the mayors of Busan and Ulsan about a statement related to an independent election.
The People Power Party has nominated the incumbent mayors and governor as its candidates in the Busan-Ulsan-South Gyeongsang region for the nationwide local elections set for June 3.
Earlier, a media outlet reported that the three People Power Party leaders were preparing a statement on running the June 3 local elections under an independent approach and that it could include a call for the party not to nominate a candidate in the Busan Buk-gu A by-election.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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