Ha Jung-woo, former Chief of AI Future Planning, officially began his political activities on April 29 by joining the Democratic Party of Korea. His first public appearance was at Gupo Market in Busan, where he met with Han Dong-hoon, former leader of the People Power Party, and Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party.
Starting at 5:20 PM, Ha visited Gupo Market to listen to the concerns of local residents. He is a strong candidate for the Democratic Party's nomination in the upcoming by-election for the North Gup district, which is the constituency of Jeon Jae-soo, the party's candidate for Busan mayor. If elected, Ha would become the only Democratic Party member representing Busan in the National Assembly.
Ha explained his choice of Gupo Market for his first event, stating, "I thought it was the most symbolic place. I wanted to meet my hometown residents first and greet them by saying, 'The son of Buk-gu has returned.'"
During his visit, Ha also encountered Han, who has declared his candidacy for North Gup as an independent. Their brief meeting lasted about 10 seconds, during which Han greeted Ha, saying, "It's been a while. Let's do well together." Ha expressed his happiness at the reunion, noting, "We talked about how it's great to see each other again and how the election race requires a lot of stamina, so we wished each other good health."
Additionally, Ha met Lee Jun-seok, who was touring Gupo Market with Jeong Yi-han, the Reform Party's candidate for Busan mayor. Lee asked Ha, "Are you entering politics now?" to which Ha affirmed. Lee then encouraged him, saying, "If you're here, you should win."
After concluding his market visit, Ha spoke with reporters, saying, "I should have come a bit earlier to meet more merchants and voters. I realized I need to listen more to their concerns. Due to time constraints today, I couldn't meet many people, but I plan to visit several times in the future to hear and address the various issues faced by the merchants."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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