Former Blue House Officials Make 'Strides' in Democratic Party Nominations... 8 Including Go Min-jung and Park Soo-hyun Confirmed for General Election Direct Entry

More than 20 Former Blue House Officials Also Preparing for the Primary Election

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Choi Jae-sung (from right), former Blue House spokesperson Go Min-jung, and former Blue House Office for Government Policy Coordination chief Yoon Gun-young held a press conference on the morning of the 20th at the National Assembly Press Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, addressing the United Future Party's move to push for the impeachment of President Moon Jae-in. They stated, "We hope they reflect on what kind of catastrophe an anti-democratic impeachment attempt, which did not gain the consent of the people, has faced."
Photo by Yonhap News Agency

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Jin-young] Former aides of the Moon Jae-in administration at the Blue House are making significant progress in the Democratic Party's nominations.

According to the Democratic Party on the 23rd, among about 50 former Blue House aides of the Moon Jae-in administration who declared their candidacy for the April general election, 8, including former spokesperson Go Min-jung, who was strategically nominated for Gwangjin District in Seoul, have advanced directly to the main election.

The 8 candidates who secured spots in the main election include former spokesperson Go Min-jung, former Senior Secretary for Civil Society Lee Yong-seon (Yangcheon District B, Seoul), former Political Planning Secretary Jin Sung-jun (Gangseo District B), former spokesperson Park Soo-hyun (Gongju, Buyeo, Cheongyang, Chungnam), former Secretary for Autonomy and Decentralization Na So-yeol (Boryeong, Seocheon, Chungnam), Political Secretary Bok Ki-wang (Asan District A, Chungnam), former First Secretary Jo Han-gi (Seosan, Taean, Chungnam), and former Senior Administrative Officer Oh Jung-gi (Buk-gu, Pohang), all confirmed as sole candidates in their respective regions.

Yoon Gun-young, former Director of the Office for Government Policy Coordination and known as President Moon Jae-in’s close confidant, is rumored to be a strategic nominee for Guro District B in Seoul.

More than 20 candidates included in the 2-3 times the number of candidates for the final nomination are preparing for primaries.

Regions where incumbent lawmakers and former Blue House aides face off are expected to have more intense preliminary contests than the main election.

In particular, Seoul Seongbuk District A (incumbent Yoo Seung-hee) and Eunpyeong District B (incumbent Kang Byung-won), where former two-term district heads Kim Young-bae, former Secretary for Civil Affairs, and Kim Woo-young, former Secretary for Local Development, respectively, are running, are considered the fiercest battlegrounds in the Democratic Party primaries.

Former Blue House Senior Secretary for Public Communication Yoon Young-chan will compete against former regional chairman Jo Shin in Jungwon District, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

Former Blue House Senior Secretary for Jobs Jeong Tae-ho will face former Gwanak District Mayor Yoo Jong-pil in Gwanak District B, Seoul.

Former Chunchoogwan Director Yoo Song-hwa (Nowon District A), former Secretary for Social Innovation Kim Sung-jin (Dongjak District A), and former Secretary for Agriculture and Fisheries Shin Jeong-hoon (Naju, Hwasun, Jeonnam) are also included in the primary contests.

There are also cases of candidates who were effectively eliminated from nominations but are making a comeback.

The Democratic Party’s Nomination Management Committee designated Jung District and Seongdong District B in Seoul, where former Senior Secretary for Social Innovation Ha Seung-chang ran, as strategic election districts on the 19th.

They judged that all four candidates competing in this area, including former Senior Secretary Ha, lacked competitiveness and intended to find other candidates.

However, Lee Geun-hyung, the party’s Strategic Planning Committee Chair, hinted at the possibility of reversing the committee’s decision regarding the nomination in Jung District and Seongdong District B, saying, “(At the Supreme Council) there was an opinion that ‘more time is needed to enhance the competitiveness of the existing candidates.’”

Within the party, there are talks that this might be an attempt to save former Senior Secretary Ha.