Ha Jung-woo, a former senior presidential secretary for AI future planning, began full-scale political activity on April 29 by joining the Democratic Party and making his first field visit to Gupo Market in Busan, where he had brief encounters with Han Dong-hoon and Lee Jun-seok.
Ha visited the market starting at 5:20 p.m. to hear from voters. He is widely expected to win the party’s nomination for the June 3 parliamentary by-election in Busan’s Buk-gu Gap district. The seat was held by Jeon Jae-soo, the Democratic Party’s Busan mayoral candidate; Ha and Jeon are alumni of the same high school, with Jeon six years ahead. If Ha wins, he would become the Democratic Party’s only lawmaker from Busan.
Explaining why he chose the market for his first stop, Ha said he saw it as “the most symbolic place” and that it was only right to greet local residents first, saying, in effect, that “the son of Buk-gu has returned.”
While touring the market, Ha met Han, who has declared his candidacy in Buk-gu Gap as an independent. In an encounter lasting about 10 seconds, Han told Ha, “It’s been a while. Let’s do well.” Ha later said they exchanged greetings and told each other to stay healthy because campaigning “takes a lot of stamina.”
Ha also ran into Lee, the leader of the New Reform Party, who was touring the market with the party’s Busan mayoral candidate Jeong Yi-han. Lee asked Ha whether he was entering politics, and after Ha replied in the affirmative, Lee offered encouragement, saying, “If you’re here, you should win.”
After finishing his market visit, Ha told reporters he wished he had arrived earlier to meet more merchants and voters. “Today I couldn’t meet many because of time constraints, including time with reporters,” he said, adding that he would return repeatedly to hear merchants’ concerns and help address them.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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