▲ This photo shows Ha Jung-woo (L), former presidential secretary for artificial intelligence policy and future planning, and former presidential spokesperson Jeon Eun-soo (R) posing for a photo at a recruitment ceremony at the National Assembly in Seoul on April 29, 2026. (Yonhap)

ruling party-candidate nominations

DP picks ex-presidential AI chief, spokesperson as candidates in June by-elections

SEOUL, April 30 (Yonhap) -- The ruling Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday nominated two former senior presidential officials as candidates in the upcoming parliamentary by-elections to be held in conjunction with the local elections.

Ha Jung-woo, former presidential secretary for artificial intelligence (AI) policy and future planning, will run for a parliamentary seat in the Buk-A constituency in Busan in the by-election on June 3.

"We viewed him as the best candidate to succeed the constituency of former lawmaker Chun Jae-soo and serve as the driving force that will lead the election to victory as a native of Busan who attended elementary, middle and high school in Buk Ward," Rep. Kang Jun-hyeon, the party's senior spokesperson, told a press briefing.

It will be one of the closely watched constituencies in the elections, with the competition expected to be a three-way race between Ha and Han Dong-hoon, former head of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), who is now an independent, as well as a PPP candidate, possibly former Veterans Minister Park Min-shik.

President Lee Jae Myung has endearingly referred to Ha as "Ha-GPT," nicknamed after ChatGPT, a popular generative AI service developed by OpenAI.

"(If elected) we expect him to elevate the level of AI-related legislation at the National Assembly," he added.

The DP also nominated former presidential spokesperson Jeon Eun-soo to run for the Asan constituency in South Chungcheong Province.

Fourteen parliamentary seats will be up for grabs in the parliamentary by-elections to be held alongside the quadrennial local elections, potentially serving as the first major bellwether of public support for the Lee administration since its launch in June last year.

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