Ulsan mayoral candidate unification talks falter over opinion poll dispute

Efforts to unify mayoral candidates for the upcoming June 3 local elections in Ulsan between the Democratic Party and the Progressive Party have hit a snag. While both parties maintain that the unification talks have not collapsed, uncertainty looms over whether a consensus can be reached before early voting begins on May 29.

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We are suspending the opinion poll for unification. Suspicious circumstances of organized intervention by some forces are being discovered.

The campaign office of Kim Sang-wook, the Democratic Party's Ulsan mayoral candidate, announced on May 24 that they were suspending the joint opinion poll. The campaign cited "suspicious circumstances of organized intervention by some forces" and stated they would continue unification talks after understanding the cause.

Kim's camp reportedly suspects that members of the Shincheonji religious group and supporters of the People Power Party have been interfering with the poll through reverse selection. In response, Kim Jong-hoon, the Progressive Party's Ulsan mayoral candidate, expressed strong disapproval of the unilateral suspension. His campaign called the resumption of the poll the "only way to prevent the breakdown" of unification efforts.

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Kim Sang-wook's unilateral declaration to halt the opinion poll is unacceptable.

Initially, both candidates were scheduled to announce their unified candidate based on the poll results that same night. However, the situation has become complicated, with the Democratic Party's chief election strategist stating that the unification is still valid but the poll itself was halted. The Progressive Party's spokesperson urged the candidates to proceed with the agreed-upon primary.

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The only way to prevent the breakdown is for candidate Kim to proceed with the opinion poll normally.