The Road to Seoul District Mayor Is Tough...Will the People Power Party Decide Gangnam-gu and Mapo-gu Mayoral Candidates Today?

People Power Party Unable to Confirm Seoul Gangnam-gu and Mapo-gu Mayoral Candidates; Attention on Whether Confirmation Will Be Announced on the 12th When Candidate Registration Begins

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jong-il] The mayor of Gangnam District Office in Seoul, which has already surpassed the "1 trillion won annual budget era," is a powerful head of local government.

Gangnam District is the wealthiest local government in the country, able to manage its finances comfortably without budget assistance from Seoul City, unlike 24 of the 25 district offices in Seoul.

Because of this, the Gangnam District mayor is regarded as equivalent to the Seoul mayor among local government heads nationwide.

In particular, in the 7th local election, the current mayor Jeong Soon-gyun of the progressive Democratic Party of Korea was elected due to the first conservative party split since the implementation of local autonomy, although Gangnam is essentially a stronghold of the unified conservative People Power Party.

This is evident from the fact that 14 candidates challenged for the People Power Party nomination for Gangnam District mayor in the June 1 local election.

On the 9th, the People Power Party held a close runoff (second round) vote via ARS among 100% responsible party members between two candidates, former Gangnam District Health Center Director Seo Myeong-ok and former National Assembly member Lee Eun-jae, with Seo reportedly leading Lee.

However, as of 7 a.m. on the 12th, the party has yet to finalize and announce its official candidate.

This is because Lee Eun-jae’s camp filed a complaint with Gangnam Police Station accusing Seo’s camp of spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act, alleging that on the runoff vote day, a text message about "Lee Eun-jae’s fraud charge and 5 million won fine" was circulated.

Notably, on the 10th, Lee held a press conference at the National Assembly and announced that he had filed a complaint against former Director Seo for spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act.

Gangnam Police Station completed the complainant investigation on the 11th, and Seo’s camp reportedly submitted an explanatory statement to the party, escalating the conflict between the two sides. The People Power Party is expected to finalize the Gangnam District mayoral candidate between the 12th and 13th, when candidate registration for the June 1 local election begins.

Meanwhile, although former Mapo District Council Welfare Committee Chair Kim Jin-cheol reportedly won the primary for Mapo District mayor candidate, his criminal record has become an issue, preventing his final confirmation and drawing attention to the party’s response.

The People Power Party has confirmed and announced candidates for 23 of the 25 district mayor positions in Seoul but has yet to decide on candidates for Gangnam and Mapo Districts.