Continued Controversy Over Seoul Gangnam and Seocho District Mayor Candidate Selection...Growing Calls for Primary Election Draw Attention

Controversy Over Female Strategic Nomination for People Power Party's Seoul Gangnam-gu Mayor Candidate and Single Nomination Rumors for Seocho-gu Mayor Candidate Sparks Backlash from Rivals

People Power Party Gangnam District Mayor Seong Jung-gi (left), Lee Seok-ju preliminary candidate

Members of the People Power Party responsible for Seocho District are holding a protest demanding a primary election.

[Asia Economy Reporter Jong-il Park] Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu in Seoul are local governments where the election of the People Power Party candidate is 100% guaranteed, regardless of who the candidate is.

These two districts, which are essentially strongholds of the People Power Party, have often fielded single candidates in nominations so far. This is none other than strategic nomination.

This time as well, Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu are reportedly planning to conduct female strategic nominations and single-candidate nominations, causing significant backlash in the local communities.

Initially, Gangnam-gu had 14 preliminary candidates competing, but it was announced that the primary would be held among four candidates: Seong Jung-gi and Lee Seok-ju (Seoul City Council members), Seo Myeong-ok (former head of Gangnam-gu Health Center), and Lee Eun-jae (former National Assembly member). However, suddenly rumors of a female strategic nomination surfaced, causing strong opposition from primary candidates Seong Jung-gi and Lee Seok-ju.

On the 28th, Seong Jung-gi and Lee Seok-ju, preliminary candidates for Gangnam-gu mayor from the People Power Party, along with their supporters, party members, and Gangnam-gu residents, held a press conference at the National Assembly Press Center urging the People Power Party’s Nomination Management Committee to oppose the female candidate strategic nomination method and to implement a fair primary election.

Seong Jung-gi, who was one of the four final candidates announced by the People Power Party’s Nomination Management Committee on the 21st, stated, “The sudden consideration of a female strategic nomination has caused great confusion among Gangnam-gu residents and party members.”

Additionally, Lee Seok-ju said, “Ahead of the June 1 local elections, please apply President Yoon Suk-yeol’s governance principles of fairness and common sense to Gangnam-gu, the heart of conservatism,” and proposed, “Please decide by selecting a candidate who will faithfully implement President Yoon’s national philosophy.”

Both candidates, Seong Jung-gi and Lee Seok-ju, promised, “A fair primary among the four preliminary candidates should be held as soon as possible to decide a single candidate. We will definitely reclaim Gangnam-gu, which was lost to the Democratic Party, and transform it into the best model local government under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.”

Seocho-gu, on the other hand, has not yet finalized anything, including the primary or single candidate selection, as of the 29th. Because of this, about 100 responsible party members of Seocho-gu held press conferences in front of the People Power Party Central Party Office, Seoul Metropolitan Party Office, and the National Assembly, demanding a fair primary election and excluding single candidate nominations, citing various issues such as overheating in the candidate recommendation process for Seocho-gu mayor ahead of the 8th nationwide simultaneous local elections on June 1.

They stated that Seocho-gu, a traditional conservative stronghold, did its best to bring about the election of President Yoon Suk-yeol and led the presidential victory by an overwhelming margin. They strongly opposed rumors that a single candidate would be nominated, ignoring fairness and common sense, at this critical moment of overthrowing the arrogant and dogmatic Moon Jae-in administration and starting a new government.

The responsible party members of the People Power Party in Seocho-gu said this was a disrespectful act toward Seocho-gu residents and insisted on a democratic primary election based on fairness and common sense. Seocho-gu mayor preliminary candidates Hwang In-sik and Cho So-hyun also shared this view and participated in the press conference.

They urged the People Power Party Central Party Nomination Management Committee to immediately stop the single candidate nomination for Seocho-gu mayor, respect the will of Seocho-gu residents, promptly conduct a fair primary election according to proper procedures, and ensure that the Yoon Suk-yeol administration becomes a renewed government where fairness and common sense prevail.

In response to the public’s desire for fairness and common sense, it is expected that holding primaries to select the mayoral candidates in these two districts, as in other districts in Seoul, will be a reasonable approach that everyone can accept and is drawing attention.