Rival parties have plates full in April
- 6 years ago
The countdown is officially on.
There are just 70 days to go before Koreans head to the polls for local elections in mid-June.
The elections have been largely overshadowed by the rapid developments in terms of North Korea diplomacy and other political affairs at the National Assembly -- but candidates are busy readying their campaigns.
For more, we connect to our political correspondent Kim Min-ji on the phone.
Min-ji, we hear a very well-known face has thrown his hat in the ring?
Mark, that's right.
As widely expected,.. former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, who is currently head of the Bareun Mirae Party's candidate recruitment team,... has announced his bid for Seoul mayor.
At a press conference this morning, Ahn vowed to breathe life into the capital region using his past successful experience as a doctor, professor and entrepreneur.
It's his second time running -- back in 2011,... he announced a bid -- but dropped out,... despite an approval rating of over 50 percent,... and expressed support for Park Won-soon -- who went on to become the mayor and is now competing for a third term.
The Seoul mayor post will be hotly contested,... with Park planning to run again and two veteran lawmakers within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea seeking to run as well.
The ruling party will be holding primaries and a candidate will be finalized sometime in mid-April.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party is planning to field former two-time governor of Gyeonggi-do Province Kim Moon-soo as its candidate.
Lots of heavy-hitters from the political world then. While the race for Seoul mayor heats up,... preparations continue for the local elections. We also know the parties have lots of tasks to be getting on with. The April session at the National Assembly has made no progress whatsoever.
You're right. The April session has been at practical standstill with rival parties at odds over key contentious bills.
Floor leaders of the country's negotiating parties met this morning -- however, they failed to narrow their differences and made no agreement on resuming parliamentary affairs.
The ruling party hopes to pass a bill establishing an investigative agency to deal exclusively with corruption among high-ranking officials,... while the opposition wants to pass a revision to the broadcasting act... that calls for more neutrality and fairness at public broadcasters.
Also, no progress was made on talks on amending the Constitution, either.
The ruling party says it can't accept the oppositions' demands for a semi-presidential system that gives more authority to the prime minister.
The main opposition, meanwhile, is calling on the ruling bloc to come up with its own version and not use the president's proposal as a basis -- suggesting party-wide talks along with President Moon Jae-in himself,... to thrash out their differences.
Now April is the last working session ahead of the June local elections,... and there are concerns it could hold up ot
There are just 70 days to go before Koreans head to the polls for local elections in mid-June.
The elections have been largely overshadowed by the rapid developments in terms of North Korea diplomacy and other political affairs at the National Assembly -- but candidates are busy readying their campaigns.
For more, we connect to our political correspondent Kim Min-ji on the phone.
Min-ji, we hear a very well-known face has thrown his hat in the ring?
Mark, that's right.
As widely expected,.. former presidential candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, who is currently head of the Bareun Mirae Party's candidate recruitment team,... has announced his bid for Seoul mayor.
At a press conference this morning, Ahn vowed to breathe life into the capital region using his past successful experience as a doctor, professor and entrepreneur.
It's his second time running -- back in 2011,... he announced a bid -- but dropped out,... despite an approval rating of over 50 percent,... and expressed support for Park Won-soon -- who went on to become the mayor and is now competing for a third term.
The Seoul mayor post will be hotly contested,... with Park planning to run again and two veteran lawmakers within the ruling Democratic Party of Korea seeking to run as well.
The ruling party will be holding primaries and a candidate will be finalized sometime in mid-April.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party is planning to field former two-time governor of Gyeonggi-do Province Kim Moon-soo as its candidate.
Lots of heavy-hitters from the political world then. While the race for Seoul mayor heats up,... preparations continue for the local elections. We also know the parties have lots of tasks to be getting on with. The April session at the National Assembly has made no progress whatsoever.
You're right. The April session has been at practical standstill with rival parties at odds over key contentious bills.
Floor leaders of the country's negotiating parties met this morning -- however, they failed to narrow their differences and made no agreement on resuming parliamentary affairs.
The ruling party hopes to pass a bill establishing an investigative agency to deal exclusively with corruption among high-ranking officials,... while the opposition wants to pass a revision to the broadcasting act... that calls for more neutrality and fairness at public broadcasters.
Also, no progress was made on talks on amending the Constitution, either.
The ruling party says it can't accept the oppositions' demands for a semi-presidential system that gives more authority to the prime minister.
The main opposition, meanwhile, is calling on the ruling bloc to come up with its own version and not use the president's proposal as a basis -- suggesting party-wide talks along with President Moon Jae-in himself,... to thrash out their differences.
Now April is the last working session ahead of the June local elections,... and there are concerns it could hold up ot