(LEAD) Liberal ex-prime minister to declare mayoral bid in conservative stronghold

▲ Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum (R) and Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae speak to reporters after their meeting in Seoul on March 26, 2026. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) ex-PM-mayoral bid

(LEAD) Liberal ex-prime minister to declare mayoral bid in conservative stronghold

(ATTN: UPDATES with details)

SEOUL, March 29 (Yonhap) -- Former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum will formally declare his bid for Daegu mayor, a main conservative stronghold, in the upcoming June local elections, party officials said Sunday.

Kim, a former four-term lawmaker of the ruling Democratic Party (DP), plans to make the announcement at the National Assembly and then in the southeastern city Monday, officials said.

His mayoral bid is seen as an attempt by the DP to gain momentum in the local elections by fielding one of its heavyweights in the city long regarded as an unwavering stronghold for the conservative bloc.

Kim served as prime minister from 2021-22 under the former liberal President Moon Jae-in. Kim has also served as interior minister.

According to party officials, Kim had repeatedly turned down the party's offer to run for a mayoral office in Daegu but decided to run as the DP pledged full support and is now campaigning for the city's economic revitalization.

Kim, a native of Sangju, neighboring Daegu, unsuccessfully ran for the Daegu mayoralty in 2014 and later won a parliamentary seat in a key Daegu district in 2016.

The DP's pick of Kim also comes as the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) remains in limbo over its selection of a candidate for the Daegu mayoralty.

The PPP is mired in a growing internal rift following the decision to exclude former National Assembly Vice Speaker Joo Ho-young and Lee Jin-sook, former broadcasting watchdog chief under ousted former President Yoon Suk Yeol, from the primary.

After announcing his bid Monday, Kim reportedly plans to register a change of address to his late father's home in Daegu.

His campaign office has been set up in a building in the city, occupying the first three floors, with the first floor designed to be an open space for citizens.

"During this election period, we plan to conduct a campaign centered on the idea that the citizens of Daegu are establishing Daegu Mayor Kim Boo-kyum, not that the Democratic Party is establishing Kim Boo-kyum," an aide to the former prime minister said.

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