Intense Behind-the-Scenes Battle for the Second Half Chairman of Cheonan City Council

Kim Haeng-geum, Kim Cheol-hwan, and Yoo Young-jin of the People Power Party's Behind-the-Scenes Work
Preliminary Plan for the Second Half Assembly Expected to Emerge from Turkey Overseas Training

With the formation of the 9th Cheonan City Council's second half session just over a month away, an intense behind-the-scenes battle is underway for the position of chairman in the latter half.
Council members Kim Haeng-geum, Kim Cheol-hwan, and Yoo Young-jin (from left) are emerging as frontrunners for the chairman candidacy.

With less than a month remaining until the formation of the second half of the 9th Cheonan City Council, an intense behind-the-scenes battle is underway for the position of chairman.

The chairman of the second half is expected to be smoothly secured by the People Power Party, which holds the majority among the 27 city council members. However, depending on whether some defections occur, the Democratic Party could also vie for the chairman position.

Currently, the Cheonan City Council consists of 14 seats held by the People Power Party, 12 by the Democratic Party, and 1 independent seat. The independent member is Vice Chairman Lee Jong-dam, who left the Democratic Party, making the two major parties effectively separated by just one seat.

Within the People Power Party, three-term council member Kim Haeng-geum, along with two-term members Kim Cheol-hwan and Yoo Young-jin, have emerged as candidates for the next chairman position.

Although Kim Haeng-geum is a three-term member, she initially entered the 7th council as a proportional representative successor, so she faces strong challenges from the two-term council members. Kim Cheol-hwan and Yoo Young-jin served as chairmen of the Economic Industry Committee and the Welfare and Culture Committee, respectively, during the first half of the 9th council, focusing on gaining the support of fellow council members.

Traditionally, the chairman position has been decided through a vote in the plenary session after the majority party’s caucus nominates a candidate. However, there is cautious speculation that if there are many candidates, voting might begin at the caucus level.

Nonetheless, concerns have been raised about the possibility of defections within the party if the chairman is elected through a vote.

In fact, during the second half of the 8th council, when the vice chairman position was contested, Kim Haeng-geum opposed the reappointment of Vice Chairman Jeong Do-hee and even declared her departure from the party, though she later withdrew it.

Accordingly, it is anticipated that a rough agreement on the council formation and the chairman and vice chairman positions could be reached among council members during the Cheonan City Council’s overseas training from the 11th to the 20th of this month. Twenty-two of the 27 council members will participate, and the freer atmosphere of the training is expected to allow for frank discussions about the second half’s council formation, according to some council members.

Council member A said, “Besides Kim Haeng-geum, who has expressed her intention to run for chairman since the first half, Kim Cheol-hwan and Yoo Young-jin have also made significant efforts and have led their standing committees well,” adding, “If the issue of defections within the party is resolved, it is definitely a situation worth challenging.”

He continued, “One of the purposes of this extended and relaxed training period in Turkey and Croatia is to sketch out the blueprint for the second half’s council formation.”