Another Purge of Incumbents... Democratic Party Filling Gwangju's 'Stronghold' with Only First-Term Lawmakers

The candidate selection for the Democratic Party of Korea's stronghold, the Gwangju region, has been completed. With the exception of Representative Min Hyung-bae, all incumbents were eliminated, suggesting that the Gwangju electoral districts will once again be filled with 'first-term' candidates. There are concerns that the repeated replacement of incumbents during elections is perceived not as 'innovation' but rather as a decision driven by party leadership centered around the party leader.

According to the Democratic Party on the 13th, in the results of the 7th and 8th primary elections announced by the Central Party Election Commission the previous day, incumbent Representative Song Gap-seok of Seo-gu Gap lost to former Gwangju City Deputy Mayor for Culture and Economy Jo In-cheol and was eliminated. Song, classified as a non-mainstream faction member, received a bottom 20% evaluation among incumbents and competed with a penalty that reduced about 20% of his primary votes. He is the only incumbent among Gwangju representatives to have been re-elected once.

Song Gap-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 25th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

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The final candidates for the eight electoral districts in Gwangju are ▲Jung Jin-wook (Lee Jae-myung) Party Leader's Political Special Advisor for Dong-gu Nam-gu Gap ▲Ahn Do-gul, former 2nd Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economy and Finance for Dong-gu Nam-gu Eul ▲Jo In-cheol, former Gwangju City Deputy Mayor for Culture and Economy for Seo-gu Gap ▲Yang Bu-nam, Co-Chairman of the Party's Legal Committee for Seo-gu Eul ▲Jung Jun-ho, Vice Chairman of the Party Policy Committee for Buk-gu Gap ▲Jeon Jin-sook, former Special Advisor to Lee Jae-myung's presidential campaign for Buk-gu Eul ▲Park Gyun-taek, Party Leader's Legal Special Advisor for Gwangsan-gu Gap ▲and Representative Min Hyung-bae for Gwangsan-gu Eul.

The outside candidates holding the tickets for the general election mostly have pro-Lee Jae-myung backgrounds. The only surviving incumbent, Representative Min Hyung-bae, is also a prominent pro-Lee faction member. Despite controversies such as verbally abusing netizens who criticized Lee Jae-myung last year and supporting the spread of false information related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee, he survived. In December last year, as the general election approached, he also stirred controversy over misogyny by calling the People Power Party an 'infertile party.'

Although there are some differences due to electoral district delineation, a notable characteristic of the Gwangju electoral districts' historical election records is that most winners have been first-term representatives. Since the 2000s, including by-elections, only six have been re-elected: Cheon Jeong-bae (re-elected in Seo-gu Eul, by-election, 20th National Assembly), Kang Ki-jung (three terms in Buk-gu Gap, 17th-19th National Assembly), Kim Tae-hong (re-elected in Buk-gu Eul, 16th-17th National Assembly), Kim Dong-cheol (three terms in Gwangsan-gu Gap, 18th-20th National Assembly), Lee Yong-seop (re-elected in Gwangsan-gu Eul, 18th-19th National Assembly), and Kwon Eun-hee (re-elected in the same district, by-election, 20th National Assembly). Apart from these, all others have been replaced by first-term candidates in each election.

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As a result, there is a sense of dissatisfaction in the region about the failure to cultivate heavyweight politicians. There is backlash against the perception that new candidates will win simply by being nominated each election. This is in line with Lee Nak-yeon's declaration to run in Gwangju, where he pointed out that "there are no great politicians in Honam."

Evaluations inside and outside the political sphere are no different. Political commentator Kim Sang-il said, "The problem is why the criteria for candidate selection seem to be based not on the people's perspective but on the preferences or favorability of Party Leader Lee Jae-myung," adding, "This result came about because YouTube, opinion polls, and broadcast supporters combined, and there was tacit consent or indirect guidance from the leadership." He further commented, "If the public senses this problem, those who feel unfairly eliminated in the primaries should raise the issue, but they chose to surrender too easily."

Choi Byung-chun, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and head of the New Growth Economy Research Institute, diagnosed, "There is a surprising reaction even in the Gwangju region regarding the replacement of incumbents." Choi analyzed, "Regarding incumbents, it seems to be an expression of dissatisfaction over holding 180 seats but losing the presidential election, combined with the sentiment that the Democratic Party, led by Lee Jae-myung, who has the highest approval rating as a presidential candidate, should fight against the Yoon Seok-youl administration."

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