Twelve Gyeongnam Branch School Irregular Workers' Union Members Run as Progressive Party Candidates for Metropolitan and Local Councils in Local Elections

Twelve members of the Gyeongnam Branch of the National School Irregular Workers' Union will run as Progressive Party candidates for metropolitan and local councilor positions in the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections, which will be held on June 3, 2026.

On May 7, the Gyeongnam Branch of the National School Irregular Workers' Union held a press conference in the briefing room of the Gyeongnam Provincial Council, announcing their intention to run in the local elections by declaring, "We will open an era where irregular school workers directly participate in politics."

Twelve union members belonging to the Gyeongnam branch of the National Union of School Irregular Workers declared their candidacy for the Progressive Party's regional and basic council member positions in the 9th nationwide local elections.
Photo by Lee Seryeong

They stated, "For the past 14 years, our union has been working to eliminate irregular employment, which has been the root cause of inequality and discrimination in Korean society. Through our union activities, we have concluded that the issue of irregular employment cannot be resolved unless workers themselves directly participate in politics."

They added, "We will go beyond the National Assembly and enter local councils to change our lives with our own hands," and continued, "School irregular workers will take the lead in creating a world without irregular employment for our children."

In this local election, the Gyeongnam Branch will field one proportional representation candidate for the provincial council, one candidate for the Changwon Constituency 3 provincial council seat, nine proportional representation candidates for city and county councils in Changwon, Gimhae, Yangsan, Jinju, Sacheon, Miryang, Uiryeong, Changnyeong, and Haman, and one candidate for Changwon Pasun Constituency city council, totaling 12 candidates.

Across the country, a total of 57 candidates will run as Progressive Party nominees, with the number of candidates from Gyeongnam being the second largest after Gyeonggi Province, which has 16 candidates.

Paek Ssangsun, head of the Gyeongnam Branch, stated, "We will no longer be content with simply making requests and petitions to vested interests; we will become those who establish and decide on systems ourselves." He added, "We ask for much encouragement, support, and solidarity for our courage."

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