Democratic Party Nominates 'Han Minsu Spokesperson' for Gangbuk-gu Eul Following Jo Sujin's Resignation (Update)

Representative Lee Jae-myung Exercises Full Authority to Decide Nominations
Gangbuk-gu E District Sees Candidate Changes After Successive Withdrawals
Jung Bong-ju → Jo Su-jin → Han Min-su Replacement

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, nominated Han Min-su as the candidate for Gangbuk-gu Eul on the 22nd. The Gangbuk-gu Eul electoral district initially nominated lawyer Jo Su-jin, but she abruptly withdrew at dawn, leading to an urgent decision on the candidate on the day of candidate registration.

Democratic Party spokesperson Kang Min-seok said in a briefing that day, "Leader Lee, with the authority delegated by the Party Affairs Committee and the Supreme Council, approved and ratified spokesperson Han Min-su as the candidate for Seoul Gangbuk-gu Eul."

Regarding the earlier withdrawal of lawyer Jo, he said, "Her resignation is regrettable," and added, "We respect lawyer Jo's intention not to cause even the slightest hindrance to the judgment of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration." He continued, "We will respond to lawyer Jo's intention by judging the administration and achieving the people's victory."

Lawyer Jo announced her withdrawal from the candidacy through social networking services (SNS) at dawn that day. She explained, "I started with the sole thought that the tyranny of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration monopolizing legislative power must be stopped," and added, "Regardless of how my candidacy is evaluated, this general election was more important."

Han Minsu, Spokesperson of the Democratic Party of Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

She continued, "As a lawyer, I always did my best for my clients, and if I became a member of the National Assembly, I intended to do everything possible solely for the residents of Gangbuk-gu and the people with the same attitude," but said, "It seems that it was different from the expectations of the people." She appealed, "If I continue, this controversy will persist during the election period," and urged, "Please stop further attacks on the party."

Initially, former lawmaker Jeong Bong-ju was selected as the candidate for Seoul Gangbuk-gu Eul, but his nomination was canceled due to controversies including remarks about 'crutches as prizes.' Subsequently, lawyer Jo won the nomination after a primary against incumbent lawmaker Park Yong-jin. However, controversies arose immediately after the nomination due to revelations about past legal work involving sexual crimes and wage arrears. Voices calling for her withdrawal came not only from the ruling party but also from women's organizations and within the Democratic Party.

Amid a series of controversies, the Democratic Party was able to finalize the candidate for Gangbuk-gu Eul after three rounds of nominations.

Some speculated about the possibility of incumbent lawmaker Park Yong-jin being nominated for Gangbuk-gu Eul, but the party stated that it was unlikely. Ahn Kyu-baek, head of the Democratic Party's Strategic Nomination Management Committee, said, "Since registration closes today, a primary in any form is impossible," and added, "Only strategic nomination is possible." Regarding the succession of Park, who lost to lawyer Jo in the primary, he said, "There is almost no succession by runner-up."

Lawmaker Park, who was evaluated in the bottom 10% among incumbents and penalized by deducting 30% of his votes, competed in two rounds of primaries including a runoff against former lawmaker Jeong. After Jeong's withdrawal, he again faced lawyer Jo in a primary but was defeated.

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