On April 10, after South Korean opposition party Democratic Party's former chairman Lee Jae-myung officially announced his candidacy for president, former leader of the ruling People Power Party (PPP), Han Dong-hoon, also declared his bid.

Han Dong-hoon held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 10th to announce his candidacy for the 21st presidential election.

Regarding former Democratic Party chairman Lee Jae-myung, Han Dong-hoon stated that it was necessary to prevent dangerous individuals from becoming president and forming a "monster regime," which could ultimately harm the nation and its people. He said that it was essential to protect the future of the country and prevent dangerous individuals seeking power regardless of national fate, as well as the extreme populists blindly following such individuals, from seizing power.

"I empathize with the suffering of citizens due to emergency martial law and impeachment politics, and I promise never to forget this pain and always remember it. However, this is also part of Korea's development process toward a free democratic nation. Only by upholding conservative core values—liberalism and rule of law—and fulfilling their duties can the conservative camp achieve victory again," Han Dong-hoon said.

Han Dong-hoon proposed a governance vision of "per capita GDP reaching $40,000 (approximately RMB 292,600) and middle-income households accounting for 70%." He promised to formulate and implement a "two-year development plan" to build five metropolitan areas centered around economic, industrial, and cultural hubs, stabilize energy prices, and reduce labor income tax.

Former chairman of the Democratic Party, Lee Jae-myung, released a video on April 10 to officially announce his candidacy for the 21st South Korean presidency.

According to reports, in the video, Lee Jae-myung proposed a national development vision called the "K Initiative," expressing his willingness to be the best tool for the Korean people, and emphasized making South Korea a global leader in various fields through soft power.

He also mentioned that if elected president, economic growth would be the top priority of state affairs.

Lee Jae-myung set governance goals of "economic development" and "life first." He believed that the government should take responsibility for professional talent cultivation and invest in technology and research. Moreover, regarding life safety issues, Lee Jae-myung stated that safeguarding the lives and safety of citizens is the primary task of the government and the nation. Whenever disasters or social crises occur, the most vulnerable groups are always the first to suffer. The level of a society and culture depends on how much attention and support it gives to vulnerable groups.

In terms of foreign policy, Lee Jae-myung emphasized that the Korea-US alliance and Korea-US-Japan cooperation are important, but the principle of "placing national interests first" should be upheld. The Korean government should compete where competition is necessary, cooperate where cooperation is needed, and properly mediate and resolve disputes where conflicts exist.

On the morning of April 8 local time, South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, who is acting as president, presided over the State Council meeting, which formally determined that South Korea will hold early elections on June 3.

According to Yonhap News Agency, a poll result released by South Korean polling agency Realmeter on the 7th showed that 56.9% of respondents believed "the opposition camp should take power," while 37% believed "the ruling party should continue governing."

Additionally, the Democratic Party's support rate was 44.8%, down 2.5 percentage points from the previous survey; the People Power Party's support rate was 35.7%, down 0.4 percentage points. The gap between the two was 9.1 percentage points, exceeding the margin of error for two consecutive weeks. The New Right Party had 5.2%, the Reform New Party had 3.3%, and the Progressive Party had 1.2%.

This article is an exclusive contribution from Guancha Zazhi (Observer Network), unauthorized reproduction is prohibited.

Original source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7491849546885005865/

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