Democratic Party Strategically Nominates Namjoon Kim for Incheon Gyeyang-eul and Song Younggil for Incheon Yeonsu-gap

by Moon Hyewon

Published 23 Apr.2026 18:01(KST)

Updated 24 Apr.2026 07:07(KST)

The Democratic Party of Korea announced on April 23 that it will strategically nominate Namjoon Kim, former Blue House spokesperson, for the Incheon Gyeyang-eul district and Song Young-gil, former party leader, for the Incheon Yeonsu-gap district in the upcoming parliamentary by-elections, which will be held concurrently with the June 3 local elections.

Song Young-gil, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

Namjoon Kim, former Blue House spokesperson. Photo by Yonhap News

Kang Junghyun, chief spokesperson for the Democratic Party, revealed these strategic nominations to reporters immediately after a closed Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that afternoon.

Spokesperson Kang explained, "Incheon Yeonsu-gap is a challenging district for our party and is a key strategic area that we must defend. Considering the political weight of former leader Song Young-gil, who has served five terms as a National Assembly member from Incheon, as well as mayor of Incheon and party leader, we have placed him in this district as a strategic decision."

Regarding former spokesperson Kim, Kang stated, "He has a strong understanding of the Lee Jaemyung administration and extensive knowledge of the local area. We consider him the best candidate to swiftly address local issues, as he can accurately grasp President Lee Jaemyung’s intentions."

The Democratic Party held a meeting of the Strategic Nomination Management Committee that morning to discuss the selection of strategic candidates for the Incheon region, and confirmed the nominees at the closed Supreme Council meeting in the afternoon. As for the selection of strategic candidates for the Gyeonggi region, Secretary-General Cho Seungrae said, "We will proceed sequentially according to the schedule. Since we must complete the process by the first week of May at the latest, the Strategic Nomination Committee will meet almost daily to narrow down and finalize the candidate districts."