O Tae-wan Preliminary Candidate Leaves People Power Party ... Uiryeong County Governor Election Expected to Be a 3-Way Independent Race

Seoul Southern District Court Grants Injunction to Suspend Primary Election Validity

O Tae-wan, preliminary candidate for Uiryeong County Governor, Gyeongnam.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] Oh Taewan, the preliminary candidate for the mayor of Uiryeong County from the People Power Party, officially declared his independent candidacy on the 12th.

On the 11th, a day before the candidate registration at the Election Commission, Oh submitted his resignation from the People Power Party's Gyeongnam Provincial Party, where he had been a member for 32 years.

According to Uiryeong County and others, the Seoul Southern District Court recently accepted the provisional injunction request submitted by former National Assembly member Kim Jeonggwon against the People Power Party’s central party, seeking to suspend the validity of the Uiryeong County mayoral primary election.

With the provisional injunction accepted, the effect of Oh’s recommendation as a public official has been suspended.

Former Assemblyman Kim declared on the 3rd that competing in a primary against a candidate currently on trial for sexual harassment charges was not proper for the residents and announced his withdrawal from the mayoral primary and resigned his preliminary candidacy.

Kim stated, “According to Article 22 of the People Power Party’s Ethics Committee regulations, Oh, who is on trial for sexual crimes, has no eligibility to run within the party, yet he was allowed to participate and compete in the primary,” adding, “This violates the party’s constitution and regulations.”

Oh Taewan’s campaign committee criticized the judiciary for excessively abusing its authority by intervening in the party’s exclusive right to conduct candidate nominations.

“The court’s decision at a time when a re-primary is impossible is an act that cannot occur within the constitutional system of clear separation of powers and is an excessive act,” they said. “We will correct this through the main lawsuit and constitutional complaint.”

Oh said, “I feel rather relieved to have lessened the burden of the People Power Party, which I have upheld for 32 years,” adding, “If the objection to the provisional injunction is accepted or if I am acquitted in the criminal trial, I will definitely return to the party.”

“The nomination was confirmed with an overwhelming support rate of 67.94%,” he said, “The atrocity of the Southern District Court that took away the nomination rights and the political scoundrels will be punished and judged by the residents through voting.”

Regarding candidate Kim Jeonggwon, Oh sharply criticized, “Like in the last by-election, he is shamelessly persuading Democratic Party candidate Kim Chunggyu to run as an independent without even participating in the primary,” adding, “He is tearing the region apart with division and conflict.”

“Although he may be temporarily pleased that the provisional injunction was accepted, it will surely come back as a boomerang, and he will receive unbearable criticism from the residents,” he emphasized, “The forces driving Uiryeong into division and conflict will also face the whip of public opinion.”

Oh appealed for support, stating that he would return to the People Power Party after winning as an independent and serve again as the mayor from the ruling party.

With Oh’s independent candidacy, the Uiryeong County mayoral election in the nationwide local elections this June is expected to become a three-way race among independent candidates.

Candidate registration is from the 12th to the 13th, and the preliminary candidates who have declared their candidacy so far are Kim Chunggyu, who left the Democratic Party; Son Hohyeon, who failed to return to the People Power Party; and Oh Taewan.

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