DPK: "Local Elections Must Hold Yoon Suk Yeol Kids Accountable... About 60% of Nominations Completed"

Democratic Party: "60% of Nominations Complete, Targeting Finalization by the 20th"

Meeting with Innovation Party: "No Agenda Set"… Unification Not Yet Decided

Regarding the 6·3 local elections, the Democratic Party of Korea announced that about 60% of candidate nominations have been completed. The party also indicated that it has not yet begun discussions on candidate unification or other electoral alliances with other pro-government parties such as the Cho Kuk Innovation Party.

Cho Seungrae, Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated at a press briefing held at the National Assembly on the 12th, "Including metropolitan and basic-level mayors, metropolitan and basic-level council members, and proportional representatives, the overall progress rate is about 60%. Except for a few unavoidable regions, we expect the nominations to be largely completed by our target date of the 20th of this month." Secretary General Cho also introduced that the runoff elections for Daejeon Mayor (13th), Jeonnam-Gwangju Integrated Special Mayor (14th), South Chungcheong Governor (15th), Sejong Mayor (16th), and Jeju Governor (18th) will be finalized.

Regarding the significance of the local elections, he said, "The people delivered their judgment through the Revolution of Light, and the central government was changed and judged through the presidential election. However, the most significant meaning of the local elections is to judge once more the incompetent regional forces, including the so-called 'Yoon Suk-yeol kids'—those metropolitan mayors and others who emerged alongside Yoon Suk-yeol." He continued, "There is a very strong demand for change among party members and citizens. Our goal is to replace incompetent local administrators with capable ones."

Cho Seungrae, Secretary General of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press briefing at the National Assembly on the 12th, explaining the progress of the 6.3 local elections nominations. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Regarding the conditions for victory in the local elections, he said, "I do not wish to set specific targets," but added, "Our goal is to win in as many places as possible."

Discussions on electoral alliances, such as candidate unification within the pro-government camp, are still in the early stages. While Secretary General Cho confirmed a meeting with Lee Haemin, Secretary General of the Innovation Party, he said, "No specific agenda has been decided yet." He added, "We have not agreed to discuss any particular election; the meeting is simply an opportunity to share each party's concerns and circumstances."

When asked whether the party would field candidates in all parliamentary by-elections regardless of Cho Kuk, the leader of the Innovation Party, running in any by-election, Secretary General Cho replied, "Of course." He added, "As Representative Jeong Cheongrae has also mentioned, both the local election nominations schedule and the by-election nominations schedule will proceed according to our own plans."

Regarding the potential need for candidate unification for the South Gyeongsang Governor and Ulsan Mayor races, Secretary General Cho acknowledged the necessity but stated that no policy has been determined yet. He said, "It seems that discussions on candidate unification among the pro-government camp have arisen independently within civil society, labor circles, and religious communities in Ulsan, South Gyeongsang, and Busan, without coordination with the central party. However, since there is no established policy from the central party yet, discussions have not been coordinated at this point."

Regarding Representative Ahn Ho-young's hunger strike demanding a retrial in the Jeonbuk Governor primary, Secretary General Cho said, "We will proceed according to principles and procedures," and added, "It would be better not to go on a hunger strike."

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