Democratic Party to Encourage Lee Kwang-jae to Run for Gangwon Governor... Gyeongbuk Province Struggles with 'Zero Candidates'

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[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to encourage Representative Lee Kwang-jae to run as a candidate in the Gangwon Province gubernatorial primary.

The Democratic Party's Emergency Response Committee held a meeting at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 19th and passed this resolution.

Democratic Party Chief Spokesperson Ko Yong-jin told reporters, "The Emergency Response Committee has decided to encourage Representative Lee to run as the candidate for Gangwon Province governor," adding, "Since there is not much time left, we expect he will accept the committee's encouragement."

Previously, no one had applied as a candidate for Gangwon Province governor within the Democratic Party, leading Representatives Woo Sang-ho and Shin Hyun-young to publicly encourage Representative Lee to run.

They are also considering encouraging a candidate to run in the North Gyeongsang Province region, where no candidates have emerged. Spokesperson Ko explained, "Since no candidates have applied in North Gyeongsang, we are currently working to have a specific person run."

The candidate pool for Seoul mayor, designated as a 'strategic electoral district,' is planned to be decided within the next day or two. He said, "So far, the Emergency Response Committee Chairperson has been in contact with various other candidates and gauging their intentions. We will finalize and announce the nomination outline as soon as possible after compiling these results."

For the Chungbuk Province gubernatorial candidate, former Presidential Chief of Staff Noh Young-min will be nominated unopposed. For the Gyeonggi Province gubernatorial candidate, a four-person primary will be held among former New Wave leader Kim Dong-yeon, Representatives Ahn Min-seok and Cho Jung-sik, and former Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young.

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