People Power Party Holds Primary Election for Gangseo District Mayor Candidate

First Public Office Committee Meeting Held to Decide
Final Candidate Registration Deadline on the 10th

The People Power Party announced on the 8th that it will hold a primary election to select a candidate for the Seoul Gangseo District Mayor by-election scheduled for the 11th of next month.

Kang Min-guk, a member of the People Power Party's Central Party Nomination Management Committee for the Seoul Gangseo District Mayor by-election, said to reporters after the first meeting on the same day, "As a result of the resolution, the Nomination Committee decided to hold a fair primary," adding, "The specific details will be decided at the second Nomination Committee meeting."

Lee Cheol-gyu, Chairman of the People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee, is speaking at the first meeting of the Nomination Management Committee for the Gangseo District Mayor by-election held at the National Assembly on the 8th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The candidate announcement will be held from today until the 9th, with final registration closing on the 10th.

The People Power Party stated that it chose to hold a primary election in criticism of the Democratic Party's strategic nomination of Jin Gyo-hoon, former Deputy Commissioner of the National Police Agency. Lee Cheol-gyu, chairman of the Nomination Committee, said in his opening remarks before the meeting, "We will proudly receive the people's choice through nominations that meet the public's expectations," and added, "Unlike the Democratic Party, we will not select candidates based on the arbitrary judgment of the party leader and leadership."

This by-election is being held after Kim Tae-woo, a leading candidate from the People Power Party and former Gangseo District Mayor, lost his position following a guilty verdict in May on charges related to exposing allegations of cover-up of an inspection involving Cho Kuk, former Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs. Initially, the People Power Party was inclined not to nominate a candidate, citing the possibility of not recommending candidates in constituencies where by-elections occur due to violations of the Public Official Election Act by elected officials from the party.

However, the atmosphere changed after President Yoon Suk-yeol granted a special pardon to former Mayor Kim last month. Kim officially declared his candidacy for this by-election, and voices within the party have steadily called for nominating a candidate to confirm public sentiment in the metropolitan area, as this election is seen as a prelude to next year's general parliamentary elections.

Chairman Lee stated, "In the case of former Mayor Kim, the crime of 'abuse of authority' was revealed during the process, and considering that he was elected even after the first trial verdict was announced, we decided to field a candidate again," adding, "We judged that (nominating a candidate) is the duty to the residents of Gangseo who supported the values of fairness and justice upheld by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, fulfilling the responsibility of a political party."

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