People Power Party Central Committee Takes Drastic Step of Not Nominating Candidate for Geochang County Governor Election

Extreme Candidate Conflicts and Legal Disputes
"Leaving the Decision to the Citizens of Geochang"

The People Power Party has ultimately taken the drastic measure of not nominating any candidate for the Geochang County governor election in Gyeongnam Province. Amid severe conflicts among the candidates, a series of lawsuits and counter-lawsuits, and even investigations, the party has effectively announced its decision to forgo the nomination process.

The Central Party Nomination Management Committee for the 9th Nationwide Local Elections of the People Power Party announced on May 13 that after holding its 39th meeting and re-examining the issue of recommending a candidate for Geochang County governor, it had finally decided to forgo nominating any candidate.

The Central Nomination Committee explained, "After the nomination review was transferred to the central party, we conducted an in-depth re-examination, comprehensively reviewing all factors such as document screening, interviews, and public opinion indicators, and also reflecting additional investigation results."

However, it is reported that the party judged it would be difficult to maintain a normal nomination process, as conflicts among candidates intensified to the extreme and the situation worsened with ongoing lawsuits, counter-lawsuits, and investigations.

The committee stated, "We took seriously the difficulty of restoring procedural trust with candidate registration imminent," and added, "Rather than forcibly nominating a specific candidate, we determined that leaving the choice to the citizens of Geochang would be the responsible decision."

Previously, the issue of nominating a candidate for Geochang County governor was transferred to the central party level after an injunction was granted on May 4. Since then, internal and external conflicts among candidates and ongoing controversies surrounding the nomination process have persisted, and with the central party's decision to forgo nomination, it is expected that the repercussions will grow.