PPP Gyeonggi Lawmakers: "Immediate Launch of Regional Campaign Committee... Outpost for Seoul Metropolitan Victory"

People Power Party lawmakers representing constituencies in Gyeonggi Province have announced that they will independently launch and operate local-level election campaign committees before the central party's election campaign committee is established. This move appears to aim at alleviating regional concerns arising from the delayed selection of the Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate and at distancing themselves from the central party to broaden their appeal to moderate voters.

People Power Party Nomination Management Committee. Yonhap News Agency

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On April 21, six People Power Party lawmakers from Gyeonggi Province-Kim Sun-kyo, Kim Sung-won, Kim Yong-tae, Kim Eun-hye, Song Seok-jun, and Ahn Cheol-soo-held a press conference at the National Assembly's communication center and announced, "We will immediately launch a Gyeonggi Province election campaign committee." They added, "We, who are on the ground, will personally take the lead," and explained, "Gyeonggi Province will take action first in this crisis and become the forward base for victory in the Seoul metropolitan area."

The lawmakers stated, "We will personally develop and take responsibility for local pledges, as we know the field best," and declared, "We will directly address key issues that can change the lives of residents, including the reconstruction of the first-generation new towns, completion of the Greater Seoul Metropolitan Express Railway (GTX), support for the semiconductor cluster, and balanced development of northern Gyeonggi." They also mentioned that "as soon as nominations are finalized in Gyeonggi Province, we will implement an integrated election strategy covering both metropolitan and basic local government levels."

The fact that lawmakers from Gyeonggi Province are preemptively forming a separate campaign committee before the central party's committee is established is being interpreted as a strategic response aimed at moderate voters in the Seoul metropolitan area. There is growing anxiety on the ground as the schedule for selecting the Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate is delayed. While Choo Mi-ae of the Democratic Party of Korea was quickly confirmed as a candidate and has already begun campaigning, the People Power Party has only recently selected its four preliminary candidates and set a schedule for the primary.

Regarding the formation of an independent campaign committee, Assemblyman Song Seok-jun stated, "We intend to mobilize all the capabilities and resources of our party, and regardless of the delayed decision on the gubernatorial candidate, we will activate all communication channels, organizations, and networks to proactively establish our campaign structure." He further added, "We will create a broad platform within our provincial party to embrace the diverse public sentiment disappointed with the central party."

The lawmakers emphasized that the launch of the Gyeonggi campaign committee would be pursued as swiftly as possible. They also left open the possibility of forming a joint campaign committee for the broader metropolitan area. Assemblyman Kim Sun-kyo commented, "We are currently in the final stages of nominating both basic and metropolitan local government heads and council members," adding, "We intend to quickly complete preparations by covering all these aspects." He also explained, "We will launch our own campaign committee, and once the final candidate is decided, they will join us."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee announced the previous day that four individuals-Yang Hyang-ja and Cho Kwang-han, both top members of the People Power Party, as well as former lawmaker Ham Jin-gyu and former MBC announcer Lee Seong-bae-would compete in the Gyeonggi gubernatorial primary. The committee indicated that the four preliminary candidates will participate in debates and an election to select the final candidate through a "one-shot primary" system. The final candidate is scheduled to be announced on May 2.

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