Gyeongnam Governor Election Lineup Confirmed... Four-Way Contest Expected

Democratic Yang Munseok, People Power Park Wansu, Justice Yeo Youngguk, Independent Choi Jinseok

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Jucheol In] The major candidates from the ruling and opposition parties running for the 8th nationwide simultaneous local elections for Governor of Gyeongnam Province have been virtually confirmed.

The Democratic Party of Korea announced on the 28th that it had finalized former Vice Chairman of the Provincial Party Yang Mun-seok as the candidate for Governor of Gyeongnam after a primary election against Provincial Assembly member Shin Sang-hoon, both of whom applied for the nomination.

Former Vice Chairman Yang won with 50.07% of the votes, defeating Provincial Assembly member Shin Sang-hoon, who received 49.93%. Yang previously served as a standing commissioner of the Korea Communications Commission and was also the head of the Media and ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Special Committee for Broadcasting Media during Lee Jae-myung’s presidential campaign.

Earlier, the People Power Party selected Park Wan-su, a member of the National Assembly representing Uichang-gu, Changwon City, as their candidate for Governor of Gyeongnam on the 22nd.

Park, a five-term National Assembly member, won a fierce primary against former National Assembly Deputy Speaker Lee Ju-young, securing 57.8% of the votes compared to Lee’s 42.11%. After three attempts in the party primary, Park clinched the candidacy for Governor of Gyeongnam and submitted his resignation from the National Assembly on the 26th to officially begin his election campaign. Park has previously served as Director of the Gyeongnam Provincial Department of Economy and Trade, Mayor of Changwon, and President of Incheon International Airport Corporation.

The Justice Party’s leader, Yeo Young-guk, declared his candidacy for Governor of Gyeongnam on the 28th, challenging the candidates from the Democratic Party and People Power Party.

Leader Yeo had considered running in a by-election for the Changwon Seongsan-gu district if National Assembly member Kang Ki-yoon, whose constituency is Changwon Seongsan-gu, ran for mayor of Changwon. However, after Kang’s mayoral bid was canceled, Yeo immediately prepared to run for Governor of Gyeongnam. With the slogan “Governor for Working People,” Yeo has served as a Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly member, provincial party chairman, and a member of the 20th National Assembly.

Choi Jin-seok, CEO of Dooson International, is expected to run as an independent candidate for Governor of Gyeongnam. He registered as a preliminary candidate on the 4th and currently serves as head of the Overseas Business TFT Division at Edison Motors. Additionally, former National Assembly member Park Gye-dong, who registered as a preliminary candidate for the People’s Party, did not get a chance to participate in the primary during the merger process with the People Power Party, so the gubernatorial election in Gyeongnam is expected to be a four-way race.

Although the People Power Party, which won all 18 cities and counties in the province during the presidential election, is expected to have momentum as the ruling party in the local elections, the confirmed fixed votes of the progressive camp suggest that the election outcome cannot be predicted with certainty.

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