The issue is especially visible in Daerim-dong, where Kang is seeking a council seat. Kang himself is a naturalised South Korean citizen, originally from China’s northeastern Jilin province.
While foreign-born candidates remain rare in South Korean politics, their presence has become more visible as the country’s foreign resident population grows.
“In my view, there is little doubt that the growing number of Chinese residents has been a key factor in bringing this issue back into the spotlight,” said Kim Gidong, an assistant professor of political science at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
But he argued that the broader issue extends beyond any single nationality.
“It would be more constructive to shift the focus away from a specific nationality and instead discuss the broader question of what kind of immigrant society South Korea wants to become,” he said.
The discussion comes as South Korea faces mounting demographic challenges, including a rapidly ageing population and one of the world’s lowest birth rates.
Policymakers increasingly view immigration as one way to offset labour shortages and population decline.
Government data released in March showed that about 1.7 million foreign nationals were residing in the country as of May 2025, up 8.4 per cent from a year earlier.
TEST FOR PRESIDENT LEE
The elections are also being closely watched as a political test for President Lee Jae Myung’s administration.
Voters are choosing mayors and governors across 16 cities and provinces in the first nationwide ballot since Lee’s snap presidential election victory last year.
The results are expected to provide an indication of public sentiment toward Lee’s first year in office and whether his ruling Democratic Party can consolidate support.
For the opposition People Power Party, the elections represent an opportunity to recover from the political fallout surrounding former president Yoon Suk Yeol’s failed martial law declaration in 2024.
Recent polls show the gap between the ruling and opposition camps narrowing, with Seoul emerging as a key battleground.
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