Yeouido, Jongno Lee Nak-yeon · Gyeongnam Yangsan Kim Doo-kwan · Namyangju Byeong Kim Yong-min · Goyang Byeong Hong Jeong-min Nomination

Lee Nak-yeon’s First Strategic Nomination and Initial Placement of Recruited Talent

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bong-gi] The Democratic Party of Korea has decided to strategically nominate former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon for Jongno, Seoul; Representative Kim Du-kwan for Yangsan-eul, Gyeongnam; Lawyer Kim Yong-min for Namyangju-byeong, Gyeonggi; and Lawyer Hong Jeong-min for Goyang-byeong, Gyeonggi.

On the afternoon of the 17th, the Democratic Party held consecutive meetings of the Strategic Nomination Committee and the Supreme Council, and Strategic Planning Committee Chairman Lee Geun-hyeong later announced at the Supreme Council that four strategic candidates had been decided.

The Democratic Party’s confirmation of former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon, who will face off against United Future Party leader Hwang Kyo-ahn, as the first strategic nomination candidate is interpreted as a strategy to empower him at the party level. As the party’s standing co-chairman of the election committee and the symbolic 'No. 1 strategic nomination' candidate, Lee was honored accordingly.

Strategic Planning Committee Chairman Lee Geun-hyeong explained, "Former Prime Minister Lee has earned a great deal of public trust and has shown strong determination for the party’s victory in the general election, which were highly valued in selecting him as a candidate."

In the case of Representative Kim Du-kwan, although his current constituency is Gimpo-gap, he changed his running district to Yangsan-eul, Gyeongnam, a Democratic Party weakhold, at the request of the party leadership. This strategic nomination is also analyzed to have been decided in this context. Kim is expected to participate as a co-chairman of the soon-to-be-launched election committee and will also take on the role of comprehensively leading the Gyeongnam regional election.

Lawyer Kim Yong-min, nominated for Namyangju-byeong, joined the party on the 7th and is a member of the 2nd Legal and Prosecutorial Reform Committee. Lawyer Hong Jeong-min, deployed to Goyang-byeong, the constituency of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education Yoo Eun-hye, is the Democratic Party’s sixth recruited talent for the general election. She is a woman in her 40s with a Ph.D. in economics and leads 'Lostory,' a legal services-related startup.

This is the first time among the Democratic Party’s recruited talents that a nomination has been confirmed. Chairman Lee described Lawyer Kim as "the right person to complete the reform of power institutions, which can be seen as the spirit of the times," and evaluated Lawyer Hong as "an economic expert who simultaneously earned a Ph.D. in economics and passed the bar exam in her early 30s, making her the right person to upgrade the economy of Goyang City."

The Democratic Party also finalized eight additional strategic districts, including Uiwang-Gwacheon, Gyeonggi; Gimpo-gap, Gyeonggi; and Dongjak-eul, Seoul, which the Nomination Committee had requested to be designated as strategic districts on the 15th.

Regarding this, it is known that some concerns were raised at the Supreme Council about designating areas where multiple preliminary candidates have been preparing for the general election as strategic districts.

Previously, the Democratic Party designated 15 districts as strategic areas in the first round, including constituencies where incumbent lawmakers are not running. With four districts confirmed with candidates on this day, a total of 19 districts remain as strategic areas.