What about the Gyeongnam Governor Seat Left by Kim Kyung-soo? Low Possibility of By-election, Acting Authority System Likely to Continue Until Next Year

Elections Not Held for Terms Under One Year... Considering By-election Costs and Public Official Election Act

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Saeyan] What will happen to the vacant position of Governor of Gyeongnam Province?

With Governor Kim Kyung-soo of Gyeongnam Province stripped of his position due to charges of conspiring in the 'Druking comment manipulation' case, attention is focused on whether a by-election for the Gyeongnam governorship will be held.

According to the Gyeongnam Provincial Election Commission on the 21st, the Public Official Election Act stipulates that by-elections or re-elections for local government heads, if the reason for holding the election is confirmed between March 1 and August 31, shall be held on the first Wednesday of October.

Considering this regulation, the by-election for the Gyeongnam governor should be held in October.

However, since local elections are scheduled for June next year, even if a by-election is held, the term would be less than one year, making the possibility of holding a by-election low. According to the Public Official Election Act, elections may not be held if the remaining term is less than one year.

Above all, the governor election must be conducted throughout the entire Gyeongnam Province, and the election cost is estimated to be 34.6 billion KRW.

Considering the efficiency and cost of conducting a by-election, the possibility of not holding it is high.

The Provincial Election Commission plans to hold a meeting of the commission within 10 days after receiving the notice of vacancy from the provincial office soon to decide whether to hold the by-election for governor.

An official from the Provincial Election Commission said, "Looking at the nationwide by-election status over the past 10 years, elections with less than one year of term remaining were hardly held," and added, "Considering these various circumstances, the decision will be made at the commission meeting."

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