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Park Sang-su, the People Power Party candidate for mayor of Samcheok, opened his campaign office at 2 p.m. on the 9th on the 4th floor of the Jungang Building, 32–9 Daehak-ro, and formally launched his push for victory in the June 3 local elections.
The event drew senior party figures, including Lee Cheol-gyu, chair of the party’s Gangwon provincial committee and a member of the National Assembly representing Donghae–Taebaek–Samcheok–Jeongseon; Rep. Shin Dong-wook (Seoul Seocho B); joint campaign chairs Kim Dong-wan, Kim In-bae and Han Seung-ho; former Samcheok Mayor Kim Il-dong; Dr. Ahn Ho-seong; former world boxing champion Hong Soo-hwan; Choi Seon-do, head of the Samcheok Cultural Center; Park Jae-ok, head of the Samcheok chapter of the Korea Senior Citizens Association; former Gangwon University vice president Kim Seung-ho; Kim Jin-gu, former head of Samcheok Hyanggyo; and Kim Gu-hyeon, chair of the party’s Samcheok city operations committee.
The audience also included Jung Hee-su, chairman of the Samcheok Chamber of Commerce; Lee Gap-su, chair of the Samcheok Women’s Organizations Council; Kim Chang-young, chair of the Samcheok Neighborhood Leaders Association; Choi Byung-soon, chair of the Samcheok Security Organizations Council; Choi Yu-ra, who traveled from Nagoya, Japan; city council hopefuls Kwon Jeong-bok, Kim Won-hak, Yang Hee-jeon, Kim Jae-gu and Kim Chang-su; provincial assembly hopefuls Jeong Yeon-cheol and Jo Seong-woon; proportional candidate Hong Geum-hwa; Seo Young-il, chair of Gangwon’s youth committee; and roughly 1,000 citizens, leaving the venue packed.
The program began with introductions of VIPs, followed by remarks from provincial chair Lee Cheol-gyu and Rep. Shin Dong-wook; speeches by former Mayor Kim Il-dong and former WBA junior featherweight champion Hong Soo-hwan; congratulatory addresses from joint campaign chairs Kim Dong-wan and Kim In-bae; Park Sang-su’s remarks; introductions of senior campaign officials; and greetings from other local election candidates.
A notable moment occurred when Park Sang-su and joint campaign chairs Kim Dong-wan and Kim In-bae—who had competed in the party primary—joined hands on stage. The audience responded with loud applause and cheers, a gesture many interpreted as a symbolic sign of post-primary unity in the conservative camp and a commitment to a “one-team” victory.
Rep. Lee Cheol-gyu praised Park in his address, saying, “Under the current administration, Park secured preliminary feasibility approval for the Yeongwol–Samcheok highway, won approval for the Samcheok–Gangneung high-speed rail feasibility study, and advanced efforts to attract an advanced medical cluster based on a heavy-ion accelerator—concrete measures that have created future growth engines for Samcheok.”
Lee added, “Just as a plane needs maximal thrust to take off, Samcheok now stands at a critical juncture that requires uninterrupted progress,” and urged attendees to back Park so the city’s planned projects and economic transformation can be completed.
Rep. Shin Dong-wook echoed that view, saying, “Sustaining Samcheok’s development requires a strong mayor who can bridge national politics and local administration,” and called Park the right partner to generate development synergies alongside Rep. Lee Cheol-gyu.
Joint campaign chairs Kim Dong-wan and Kim In-bae emphasized unity, saying, “The primary is over; now we must unite to win,” and vowed to work within a strong one-team framework to secure Park’s election.
Park Sang-su reviewed his administration’s achievements and outlined a detailed vision for the next four years.
Park told the crowd, “Four years ago, citizens gave me a clear mandate to be an ‘economic mayor.’ Since then I’ve been working nonstop on the ground to revive Samcheok’s economy.”
He said, “As a result, we launched a major transformation for Samcheok,” noting that the city has laid the foundation for a future energy industrial hub through a hydrogen storage and transport cluster and cleared key feasibility hurdles for both the Yeongwol–Samcheok highway and the Samcheok–Gangneung high-speed rail projects.
He highlighted the proposed heavy-ion accelerator–based advanced medical cluster in Dogye—part of efforts to transition from the coal industry—as a signature achievement that has boosted local confidence. Park also noted that national and provincial funding increased 27.7% compared with the previous term, ushering in what he described as a “1 trillion KRW era.” (1 trillion KRW ≈ $750 million)
Park then presented four core strategies to complete Samcheok’s development over the next four years.
First, he said he will expedite construction of the hydrogen-based energy industrial city to accelerate company recruitment. Second, he pledged to fast-track the heavy-ion accelerator–based medical cluster in coal-transition zones, citing a planned investment of 360.3 billion KRW (approximately $270.2 million) to kick-start the project as a future growth industry.
He also proposed measures to improve residents’ quality of life: establishing a jobs foundation to create a sustainable employment ecosystem across generations; creating a commerce revitalization foundation; permanently increasing regional currency incentives to 20%; and doubling small-business support budgets during his term to strengthen the local economy.
On tourism and sports infrastructure, Park said he would attract a national marine science museum to the decommissioned nuclear site to create an ecological tourism hub linked to the Samcheok coast, and build a large park-golf facility and a Samcheok training center in the Miro and Geundeok areas to promote longer-stay tourism.
In welfare, Park proposed culture and career-support vouchers for children and youth of up to 1,000,000 KRW (about $750) and a new “first step” grant for recent high school graduates to help with higher education and workforce entry.
He also pledged to build a comprehensive senior support center, develop Samcheok Medical Center into a central general hospital for southern Gangwon, and construct a modern public postpartum care facility to make the city more family-friendly.
Park said, “If the past four years laid the groundwork for Samcheok’s rise, the next four will usher in Samcheok’s heyday.” He added, “I will prove this with tangible results, not vague promises.”
He concluded, “As someone who knows Samcheok well and as a mayor who delivers, I will complete Samcheok’s economic transformation with the citizens. Together with Rep. Lee Cheol-gyu, we will respond with an overwhelming victory on June 3.”
Observers said the opening publicly confirmed unity within the People Power Party and a reorganization of its local structure after the primary, signaling that the Samcheok mayoral race has entered a full-scale three-way contest.
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