Gong Min-bae and Jang Dong-hwa Summoned for Changwon Uichang By-election... Supporters' Calls for Candidacy 'Declaration Battles' Continue

by Lee Seryeong

Published 25 Apr.2022 17:23(KST)

Updated 10 Aug.2025 11:06(KST)

On the 25th, a press conference urging Gong Min-bae, former mayor of Changwon, to run as a candidate for the Changwon Changgu National Assembly seat is being held.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Lee Seryeong] The public opinion battle among supporters calling for former lawmaker Gong Min-bae and former Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly member Jang Dong-hwa to run in the by-election for the Changwon Uichang-gu National Assembly seat, vacated by lawmaker Park Wan-su who is running for Gyeongnam governor, has ignited.

On the 25th, declarations urging candidates to run came one after another from supporters of each camp. Supporters or close associates are calling on candidates, and the candidates are responding to the atmosphere, creating a typical election public opinion battle.

The Uichang-gu National Assembly seat is expected to become vacant soon as lawmaker Park Wan-su was finally selected as the People Power Party’s candidate for Gyeongnam governor.

On the 25th, alumni of Gyeongnam Changwon Elementary School gathered in front of Changwon City Hall and held a press conference urging former Changwon Mayor Gong Min-bae of the Democratic Party to run.

Alumni of former Mayor Gong said, “At a time when a political leader who will warmly embrace Uichang-gu, a land abandoned for the personal advancement of a specific politician, is desperately needed,” adding, “We urge former Mayor Gong Min-bae, who sacrificed and pioneered a new path for political democratization by giving up both the National Assembly election and the Gyeongnam governor opportunity, to run.”

They emphasized, “He can unite the scattered and torn hearts of citizens and open an era of coexistence and integration without party interests, factions, progressives, or conservatives,” and “He is a talent who will create a warm national governance model where the ruling and opposition parties cooperate.”

On the 25th, a press conference urging Jang Dong-hwa, former provincial council member, to run in the Changwon Chang-gu by-election for the National Assembly is being held.

At the entrance of Sodap Market in Uichang-gu, the Citizen Countermeasures Committee for the Uichang District National Assembly By-election, chaired by former Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly member Jeong Se-young, gathered.

The committee requested former Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly member Jang Dong-hwa, who lost in the People Power Party’s Changwon mayoral primary, to run in the Uichang-gu National Assembly by-election.

“Former lawmaker Jang Dong-hwa has led the development of Uichang-gu more than anyone else, serving three terms as a Changwon city council member and as a Gyeongnam provincial assembly member for 30 years,” they supported, adding, “He is a figure who threw himself into regional development, leading the integrated Changwon City that united Changwon, Masan, and Jinhae.”

One supporter said, “I believe the party leadership will not strategically nominate someone with no ties to the region or someone who comes down like a migratory bird right before the election claiming it as their hometown,” adding, “If this area is used for political interests, there will be a huge backlash.”

Currently, Kim Ji-soo, a Gyeongnam Provincial Assembly member from the Democratic Party, Kim Young-sun, a former National Assembly member from the People Power Party, and Kim Jong-yang, former Interpol president, have already expressed their intention to run in the Uichang-gu National Assembly by-election.

If former Mayor Gong Min-bae and former Assembly member Jang Dong-hwa declare their candidacies, the competition for party nominations is expected to heat up.

Lawmaker Park Wan-su plans to resign from the Uichang-gu National Assembly seat on the 30th, and the by-election is scheduled to be held on the same day as the nationwide local elections in June.