Kim Minseok Clarifies Seoul Mayoral Candidates Memo: "Hoonshik, Wonshik, Cheongrae, Hyunjong... 'MS' Refers to Myself"

"Analyzing Potential Winning Cards"
Ideas for Candidate Strategy

Kim Minseok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, clarified that the names written in his "Seoul mayoral candidates" notebook memo, which was captured at the National Assembly plenary session the previous day (the 9th), are Kang Hoonsik, presidential chief of staff; Woo Wonshik, former National Assembly speaker; Jeong Cheongrae, former party leader; Kim Hyunjoong, former trade minister; and himself. Kim explained, "These are ideas I heard from those around me and decided to jot down."

On the 10th, appearing on "Democratic Party TV," Kim stated, "I believe there is a 99.99% chance that both the Seoul mayoral election and the Gangneung, Gangwon by-election for a National Assembly seat will take place," adding, "I'm responsible not just for the general election but also the by-elections, so it's only natural to prepare."

(Seoul=Yonhap News) On the afternoon of the 9th, a notebook belonging to Kim Minseok, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was captured at the plenary session of the National Assembly. In Kim's notebook, names or initials without last names of five candidates for Seoul mayor are written. Among these, all except "Cheongrae" are blurry and difficult to identify. On the right side of the notebook, beside the names of Lee Jinsook from the People Power Party and independent lawmaker Han Donghun, the word "OUT" is written. September 9, 2026 [Provided by The Dailyan. Resale and DB prohibited] photo by Yonhap News

He continued, "For Seoul, the candidates who participated in the previous primaries—Jeong Wonoh (former head of Seongdong District), Park Jumin, Jeon Hyunhee, Seo Younggyo (lawmakers), and Park Honggeun (Minister of Government Policy Coordination)—are the basic lineup. These individuals are naturally the fundamental candidate group," adding, "To that, I just wrote down people who have recently been mentioned."

Kim added, "I was thinking about which qualities would be appealing in Seoul, and I wrote them down. Honestly, what I am sorry about is that none of these individuals have actually been asked for their opinion. In other words, I didn’t discuss this with them; it was just my own idea."

He also clarified that, although their names were not visible in the photo, the notebook also included Kim Kyung-Min, a professor at Seoul National University, and former lawmaker Kim Jinae.

Kim explained, "Former leader Jeong Cheongrae suggested that I should also include my own name, so I did. Some were questioning whether 'MS' written in the notebook stands for Assemblyman Han Minsoo. But it's actually my initials." He went on to say, "Honestly, is there any reason for me to run? Some were joking that if no one else works out, it could really become a problem and I might have to step up myself, like candidates used to do in the past. That's why I considered what type of candidate—and with what strengths—could really appeal to Seoul and become a winning card, and wrote down my analysis accordingly."

Among the people whose names were mentioned, former leader Jeong Cheongrae expressed his displeasure on social media the previous day, stating, "I find this offensive." Jeong said, "You attacked me with negative campaigning during the party convention—wasn’t that enough? The convention is over and you’ve won, so why keep attacking those who lost?" He added, "Minseok, Younggil, and others who dreamt of becoming Seoul mayor but failed are good candidates—you can write those names in your notebook."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.