People Power Party nominates 25 candidates including Kwon Young-se, Na Kyung-won, Park Jung-hoon... Yoon's 40-year friend Seok Dong-hyun 'cut off' (Comprehensive)

Single Nomination in 19 Seoul Districts
Presidential Office Alumni Candidates All Subject to Primaries
Han Dong-hoon "Committed Politicians Will Accept Results"

The People Power Party, aiming to reclaim Seoul, has decided to grant uncontested nominations to candidates in 19 Seoul constituencies without separate primaries. Candidates from the Yongsan Presidential Office are not receiving uncontested nominations and are expected to be either reassigned or go through primary elections. The People Power Party maintains its stance on 'systematic nominations' while coordinating with candidates to finalize constituency nominees.

People Power Party's Jeong Young-hwan, Chair of the Nomination Management Committee, is announcing the first round of single-candidate recommended districts ahead of the 22nd general election at the Yeouido party headquarters on the 14th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the morning of the 14th, the People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee announced the first round of uncontested nominations for the Seoul, Honam, and Jeju regions following interviews held the previous day. There are a total of 25 uncontested nominees: in Seoul, 19 candidates including Kwon Young-se (Yongsan), Kim Byung-min (Gwangjin Gap), Oh Shin-hwan (Gwangjin Eul), Kim Kyung-jin (Dongdaemun Eul), Jeon Sang-beom (Gangbuk Gap), Kim Jae-seop (Dobong Gap), Kim Seon-dong (Dobong Eul), Lee Yong-ho (Seodaemun Gap), Koo Sang-chan (Gangseo Gap), Kim Il-ho (Gangseo Byeong), Ho Jun-seok (Guro Gap), Tae Young-ho (Guro Eul), Jang Jin-young (Dongjak Gap), Na Kyung-won (Dongjak Eul), Yoo Jong-pil (Gwanak Gap), Cho Eun-hee (Seocho Gap), Park Jung-hoon (Songpa Gap), Bae Hyun-jin (Songpa Eul), and Lee Jae-young (Gangdong Eul). In Gwangju, five candidates including Kang Hyun-gu (Dong-gu Nam-gu Gap), Park Eun-sik (Dong-gu Nam-gu Eul), Ha Heon-sik (Seo-gu Gap), Kim Jeong-hyun (Gwangsan-gu Gap), and Ahn Tae-wook (Gwangsan-gu Eul) received uncontested nominations. In Jeju, Kim Seung-wook (Jeju Eul) was uncontestedly nominated. Jung Young-hwan, chairman of the People Power Party's Nomination Committee, explained the quick announcement of uncontested nominations in Seoul by saying, "We believed that making uncontested nominations quickly would bring us closer to a victorious general election," adding, "Since the figures were clear, we proceeded with uncontested nominations."

An uncontested nomination can be granted when there is only one applicant or when one among multiple applicants has overwhelmingly superior competitiveness. Candidates who applied alone for Seoul constituencies in the People Power Party include Kim Seon-dong, Kim Jae-seop, Na Kyung-won, Moon Tae-sung, Oh Shin-hwan, and Yoo Jong-pil. Park Dae-soo, who applied for Gangseo Eul, became an uncontested nominee after his competitor, former Liberty Korea Party floor leader Kim Sung-tae, was disqualified, but he was excluded along with Moon Tae-sung, the People Power Party Eunpyeong district committee chairman. Jang Dong-hyuk, secretary-general of the People Power Party, told reporters that morning, "We can recommend uncontested nominations, but considering various situations, some may proceed to primaries," adding, "For constituencies without uncontested nominations, other considerations are being made."

Attorney Seok Dong-hyun is moving to pay his respects at the funeral hall of Severance Hospital in Seodaemun-gu, Seoul, where the late President Yoon Suk-yeol's father, Professor Emeritus Yoon Ki-jung of Yonsei University, is being laid to rest on the 16th. / Photo by Joint Press Corps

All constituencies where candidates from the Presidential Office are running are subject to primaries. These include Gangnam Eul, where former Presidential Office Personnel Secretary Lee Won-mo and former Foreign Minister Park Jin have applied; Seoul Jung-Seongdong Eul, where former Minister of SMEs and Startups Lee Young has run; and Jungnang Eul, where former Presidential Office administrator Lee Seung-hwan is a candidate. They are expected to be reassigned to challenging constituencies or go through primary elections. While former Personnel Secretary Lee and former Minister Park accepted running in difficult districts, former Minister Lee, along with Representative Ha Tae-kyung and former Representative Lee Hye-hoon, expressed their refusal to accept party reassignment. Chairman Jung of the Nomination Committee stated, "The criterion is competitiveness in the region, regardless of whether one came from Yongsan," adding, "After interviews and reviewing data, there was almost no disagreement among committee members about who has the highest chance of winning."

Other prospective candidates in constituencies with uncontested nominations have effectively been cut off. For example, Seok Dong-hyun, former secretary-general of the Democratic Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, who applied for Songpa Gap but did not receive an uncontested nomination. Seok is known to be a 40-year close friend of President Yoon Seok-yeol. Chairman Jung said, "We don't know what will happen later, but in the case of Songpa Gap, it can be understood that the applicant was cut off," adding, "Various indicators were not met, so through systematic nominations, we decided that victory is possible by going with Park Jung-hoon, former TV Chosun anchor." Han Dong-hoon, emergency committee member of the People Power Party, said to reporters on his way to work that day, "Previously, there was no set rule; it was a so-called 'hotteok nomination' where rules changed depending on the person," adding, "Once rules are established, politicians with intentions will accept them."

The party intends to continue the nomination process through coordination with candidates. Although there is a consistent opinion that reassignment is necessary to reclaim 41 out of 49 Seoul constituencies lost to the conservative camp in the 21st general election, the party is interpreted as not applying unilateral pressure. Secretary-General Jang said, "We will not conduct nominations that mechanically sacrifice senior members," adding, "If they accept reasonable explanations based on data so far, reassignment can be made, but if not, there is no intention to forcibly reassign."

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