[22nd General Election Candidates] Gwangju Metropolitan City Dong-gu and Nam-gu (Eul)

11 Preliminary Candidates Including Incumbent Lawmakers in 'Most Contested District'

8 from the Democratic Party... Candidates on Alert Following Primary Announcement

2 from People Power Party, 1 from Progressive Party... Justice Party Also

Gwangju Metropolitan City's Dong-gu Nam-gu Eul, known as the political hotspot of Honam, has become the fiercest battleground with 11 candidates registered as preliminary candidates, including the incumbent lawmaker. Among them, eight belong to the Democratic Party of Korea and are preparing for the party primary, making the competition intense.

In Gwangju Dongnam-eul, former Dong-gu Mayor Kim Seong-hwan is leading within the margin of error in various opinion polls, while incumbent National Assembly member Lee Byung-hoon and former Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Ahn Do-gul are also ranking high. So far, opinion polls show Lee Byung-hoon somewhat trailing, drawing attention to the results of the Democratic Party's Central Election Candidate Recommendation Management Committee's candidate screening.

From the top left: Kim Mihwa, Kim Byungwoo, Kim Sunghwan, Kim Haekyung, Noh Heeyong, Moon Choongsik, Park Eunsik, An Dogeol, Yang Hyungil, Lee Byunghun, Lee Jeongrak, Hong Seongnam preliminary candidates

Within the Democratic Party, eight candidates have registered as preliminary candidates: Kim Byung-woo, head of the Democratic Innovation Research Institute; former Dong-gu Mayor Kim Seong-hwan; Kim Hae-kyung, invited professor at Nambu University; former Dong-gu Mayor Noh Hee-yong; former Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Ahn Do-gul; former National Assembly member Yang Hyung-il; incumbent National Assembly member Lee Byung-hoon; and Lee Jeong-rak, co-head of the Gwangju campaign headquarters for presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung.

Incumbent lawmaker Lee Byung-hoon, who enjoys the incumbent premium, is a former bureaucrat who passed the administrative examination. He served as mayor of Gwangyang County, director of planning and management at Jeonnam Province, and cultural and economic vice mayor of Gwangju. After three attempts, he was elected in the 21st general election, served on the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, and currently chairs the Democratic Party's Gwangju branch.

Former Dong-gu Mayor Kim Seong-hwan, also a former bureaucrat who passed the administrative examination, served as a policy officer at the Prime Minister's Office and senior administrative officer at the Blue House's economic secretariat during the Roh Moo-hyun administration. He was elected Dong-gu mayor in a 2016 by-election as a member of the People's Party, later worked in Mayor Kang Ki-jung's campaign, and served as chairman of the Gwangju Environmental Corporation.

Former Vice Minister of Strategy and Finance Ahn Do-gul graduated from Gwangju Dongshin High School and Seoul National University with a degree in business administration. He entered public service through the 33rd administrative examination and, as a native of Honam, served as budget director and second vice minister at the Ministry of Strategy and Finance under the Moon Jae-in administration?the first in 16 years from Honam to do so. He is a political newcomer who joined the Democratic Party in December last year and has proposed various economic policies addressing Gwangju's economic issues.

Former Dong-gu Mayor Noh Hee-yong, who passed the local civil service exam, served as Dong-gu mayor, Gwangju public relations officer, and director of cultural tourism policy, gaining recognition in urban regeneration. He was elected in a 2012 by-election and re-elected in the 2014 local elections but lost his mayoral position due to a violation of the Public Official Election Act.

Former National Assembly member Yang Hyung-il, a former president of Chosun University, served as the 17th National Assembly member for Gwangju Dong-gu during the Roh Moo-hyun administration and was ambassador to El Salvador under the Moon Jae-in administration.

Kim Hae-kyung, an invited professor at Nambu University, was the first female executive at Gwangju Bank and ran as a candidate for Gwangju mayor in the 21st general election and the 2022 local elections.

Preliminary candidate Lee Jeong-rak, a former student activist, serves as vice chair of the Democratic Party's Social Economy Committee and as standing chair of the Democratic Party's nationwide innovation meeting in Gwangju, an external organization of the party.

Kim Byung-woo, head of the Democratic Innovation Research Institute, is a political newcomer who serves as special citizen committee chair for monitoring the defense industry for presidential candidate Moon Jae-in and vice chair of the Democratic Party's Gwangju Basic Social Committee.

They are emphasizing the realization of member-centered democratic politics, working to solidify their support base, establishing research institutes and founding forums led by supporters, and driving policies for regional development.

Meanwhile, from the People Power Party, Moon Chung-sik, a former member of the National Unification Advisory Council and party district chairman, and Park Eun-sik, an emergency committee member of the People Power Party, have registered as preliminary candidates and thrown their hats into the ring. From the Progressive Party, Kim Mi-hwa, former head of the Jeonnam National University Hospital branch of the Health and Medical Workers' Union and regional chair of the Progressive Party's Gwangju Dongnam-eul branch, is gathering voter support.

Additionally, Hong Seong-nam, regional chair of the Justice Party's Gwangju Dongnam-gu branch, has registered as a preliminary candidate and is expected to run in this general election.

Dongnam-eul covers the areas of Dong-gu and Nam-gu's Yangnim-dong, Sajik-dong, Bangnim 1 and 2-dong, and Baegun 1 and 2-dong.