DPK Announces Strategic Nominations for By-Elections... Recruits Park Jiwon and Lim Munyoung

On May 6, the Democratic Party of Korea recruited Park Jiwon, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party, and Lim Munyoung, Vice Chairman of the Presidential National Artificial Intelligence (AI) Strategy Committee, as candidates for the parliamentary by-elections to be held alongside the June 3 local elections. Park is expected to run in the Jeonbuk Gunsan·Gimje·Buan constituency, and Lim is likely to run in Gwangsan, Gwangju.

At the Democratic Party's talent recruitment event held at the National Assembly on the 6th, Park Jiwon, Supreme Council Member of the Democratic Party and expected candidate for Jeonbuk Gunsan, Gimje, and Buan electoral district (right), and Im Munyoung, standing Vice Chairman of the National AI Strategy Commission and likely nominee for Gwangsan-eul electoral district in Gwangju (left), take a commemorative photo with party leader Chung Cheongrae. Photo by Yonhap News.

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Park Jiwon, the second talent recruited by the Democratic Party, was born in Iksan in 1987. He graduated from Sangsang High School in Jeonju and the Seoul National University School of Law, and completed the 41st class of the Judicial Research and Training Institute. While serving as the CEO attorney at Dajiwon Law Firm and president of the Jeonju Sports Council, he was elected as a Supreme Council Member representing general party members-a position newly introduced under Representative Chung Chungrae’s leadership.

Park stated, "Since I joined the leadership as a symbol of a party member-driven democracy, I have always tried to understand the sentiments of our members on important issues. I will maintain my original intention and serve as a solid bridge, connecting the central and local governments, government policies and field realities, as well as the experiences of senior and junior generations."

Lim Munyoung, the third talent recruited, was born in Gwangju in 1966 and is known to have experienced the 5·18 Democratization Movement as a child. After graduating from Salesio High School and the Department of Political Science and Diplomacy at Yonsei University, he has been active as a first-generation information technology (IT) expert since the 1990s. He has worked with President Lee Jaemyung since Lee's time as Mayor of Seongnam and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, helping to lay the foundation for AI and digital policy.

Lim said, "I always believed that technology could change the world more than politics, which is why I immersed myself in computers. While working in Seongnam, I met President Lee Jaemyung and realized that there are politicians who truly want to change the world. I will help usher in an era of AI industrial revival led by local regions. I will return to Gwangju, the city that raised me, and transform it into the most advanced city of the AI era."

Park Jiwon, Supreme Council Member, expected to run as the Democratic Party candidate in the Jeonbuk Gunsan, Gimje, and Buan electoral district (eighth from the left), and Lim Munyoung, full-time vice chairman of the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy Committee, likely to be nominated for the Gwangsan-eul electoral district in Gwangju Metropolitan City (sixth from the left), are taking a commemorative photo with Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheongrae (seventh from the left) and other officials at the Democratic Party talent recruitment event held at the National Assembly on the 6th. Yonhap News

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Representative Chung Chungrae commented, "I believe what appears as coincidence is often destiny in disguise. Park Jiwon possesses keen insight and a sense of balance. While it might seem like a coincidence that Park is sitting here today, perhaps it was inevitable."

He added, "The fact that Lim Munyoung personally experienced the 5·18 Democratization Movement as a child is extremely valuable-democracy is in his bones. Perhaps his return to work in Gwangju was also a destiny foretold back then."

Kang Junhyeon, the party’s chief spokesperson, met with reporters after the Supreme Council meeting that morning and said, "This afternoon, we plan to announce our strategic nominations, except for one or two remaining by-election districts. Our policy is to complete the process by the end of this week." The districts where strategic nominations have not yet been finalized include Dalseong in Daegu, Gongju·Buyeo·Cheongyang in South Chungcheong Province, and Gunsan·Gimje·Buan Gap in North Jeolla Province.

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