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PPP taps incumbent Mayor Park as Busan mayoral candidate

Published: 12 Apr. 2026, 12:16

Busan mayor Park Heong-joon speaks at an event in Busan on March 30. [NEWS1]

Park Heong-joon, the incumbent mayor of Busan seeking a third term in the June 3 local elections, has been selected as the main opposition People Power Party's (PPP) candidate for mayor of the southeastern port city, the party said Saturday.

Park secured a majority of the votes in the primary, defeating first-term lawmaker Rep. Joo Jin-woo, and was confirmed as the party's final candidate, according to Park Duk-hyum, chairman of the party's nomination management committee.

Park will face Rep. Jeon Jae-soo, the ruling Democratic Party's (DP) candidate for Busan mayor, in the upcoming election.

“Now is the time for victory. I will serve as the field commander and vanguard for all PPP candidates," Park said, adding he would block what he described as the DP's "one-party dominance without checks."

Park was first elected Busan mayor in the 2021 by-election and was re-elected in July 2022.

Last month, he shaved his head to call for the swift passage of the "Special Act on the Development of Busan as a Global Hub City," which aims to transform the southeastern port city into a global hub.

The bill has remained pending in a parliamentary committee for nearly two years since it was reintroduced in May 2024 after being scrapped at the end of the previous National Assembly term.

Yonhap