The Primary Election for Gangseo District Mayor Confirmed, but Criticism of "Uninspiring Nomination" Also Arises

Three-Way Race Among Kim Tae-woo, Kim Jin-sun, and Kim Yong-sung
Cause of By-Election, Controversy Still Smoldering

The nomination rules for the People Power Party's Kangseo District Office by-election candidate, which had raised concerns about internal strife, have been set to a 50% party member survey and 50% general voter survey method. Although this reduces the possibility of division within the party, if the primary proceeds, there is a high likelihood that former Kangseo District Office head Kim Tae-woo, who was recently pardoned, will be selected as the final candidate, making it difficult to avoid criticism that "the person who caused the by-election is running as a candidate again."

This primary will be a three-way contest among former District Office head Kim, Kim Jin-sun, chairman of the Seoul Kangseo-byeong Party Committee, and former Seoul City Council member Kim Yong-sung. On the 11th, former District Office head Kim appealed for support on his social media (SNS), saying, "I came to the People Power Party's nomination screening interview," and "Please give me strength so that I can win overwhelmingly in the general election."

Kim Tae-woo, former mayor of Gangseo-gu and preliminary candidate of the People Power Party for the Gangseo-gu mayoral by-election in Seoul (from the right), Kim Yong-sung, former Seoul city council member, and Kim Jin-sun, head of the Gangseo-byeong party committee, are holding hands before the party nomination management committee interview at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Since former District Office head Kim was the cause of the Kangseo District Office by-election scheduled for October, the party leadership, which had been deliberating over options such as no nomination, strategic nomination, or a primary, ultimately decided to hold a primary. The primary will be held over two days, October 15-16, and will survey the suitability of 1,000 Kangseo district party members and 500 to 1,000 general voters.

Within the party, there is speculation that if the primary is held, former District Office head Kim will be chosen as the candidate. Yoon Sang-hyun, a People Power Party lawmaker, said on YTN's "News King Park Ji-hoon" program, "At first, the stance was not to nominate candidates responsible for the election due to the fault of elected officials, but now the party has decided to hold a nomination and a primary. Anyway, if a primary is held, I cautiously predict that former District Office head Kim will be selected."

Other candidates have moved to check former District Office head Kim. Kim Jin-sun, who had said he would not hesitate to run as an independent but ultimately decided to hold a primary, stated on SNS, "Many supporters opposed registration due to distrust of the party's primary, but trusting the party's promise to hold a fair primary, I decided to apply for now," and added, "With a candidate who has strong grassroots rejection and lacks expandability, it is impossible to win this by-election," thus checking former District Office head Kim.

Former City Council member Kim Yong-sung also raised his voice on SNS, saying, "When a certain candidate's name is mentioned on the news whenever the TV is turned on, the People Power Party claims a fair primary, but I doubt whether a fair primary will be held, ignoring the enormous power," and added, "If even a small suspicion arises during the primary process, it would be an act of deceiving both the People Power Party members and the residents of Kangseo District."

If former District Office head Kim becomes the final candidate, it will likely be difficult to avoid criticism that "the person who caused the by-election is running." Park Sung-min, former senior member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on YTN radio, "If former District Office head Kim is ultimately nominated, one cannot help but ask if this is a strategy for the Kangseo District Office by-election with a 'returned criminal,'" and added, "In the end, I think this will lead to People Power Party leader Kim Ki-hyun stepping down."

The damage to the party leadership if they lose is also expected to be enormous. Cho Won-jin, leader of the Our Republican Party, expressed concern on YTN radio, saying, "Even if they win, it cannot be considered a victory that moves the people," and "If they lose this time, the aftershock will be tremendous."

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