Assemblyman Shin Su-jeong Elected as Democratic Party Candidate for Gwangju City Council Chairperson

Scheduled to face Kim Yong-im, People Power Party lawmaker, in the July 8 final

Regardless of final results, first female chairperson of Gwangju City Council to be elected

Seo Yong-gyu and Chae Eun-ji appointed as 1st and 2nd vice chairpersons respectively

The Gwangju Metropolitan Council, which plays the role of monitoring, checking, and balancing the Gwangju Metropolitan City's legislative affairs, is expected to have its first female chairperson.

According to the Democratic Party's Gwangju City branch on the 29th, Shin Su-jeong (Buk-gu 3, re-elected) was elected as the party's candidate for chairperson in the Democratic Party primary held that day.

Gwangju City Council member Shin Su-jeong asking a municipal question. [Photo by Gwangju Metropolitan Council]

Among the 23 Gwangju city council members, 21 participated in this Democratic Party primary, excluding 2 independent and People Power Party members. The primary was a five-way contest among Kang Su-hoon (Seo-gu 1), Park Soo-gi (Gwangsan 5), and re-elected members Park Mi-jung (Dong-gu 2), Shin Su-jeong (Buk-gu 3), and Shim Cheol-ui (Seo-gu 4).

After the policy presentations, no candidate received a majority vote, leading to a runoff between Kang Su-hoon and Shin Su-jeong, with Shin ultimately being selected as the party's chairperson candidate.

Additionally, Seo Yong-gyu was chosen as the first vice-chair candidate, Chae Eun-ji as the second vice-chair candidate, Jung Da-eun as the chair of the Council Operations Committee, Ahn Pyeong-hwan as the chair of the Administrative Autonomy Committee, Choi Ji-hyun as the chair of the Environment and Welfare Committee, Park Pil-soon as the chair of the Industry and Construction Committee, and Myung Jin as the chair of the Education and Culture Committee.

With Shin being selected as the candidate in this Democratic Party primary, the Gwangju Metropolitan Council is on the verge of having its first female chairperson.

As Kim Yong-im, a member of the People Power Party, is reportedly considering running in the main chairperson election scheduled for July 8, the contest is expected to be a 'female versus female' battle, and regardless of the outcome, the council is set to have its first female chairperson in history.