Rising Calls for Strengthened Integrity Verification in Gimcheon Mayor By-election

Controversy Over Morality of People Power Party Candidate
"Candidate to Be Selected After Thorough Screening"

As the by-election for the mayor of Gimcheon, Gyeongbuk approaches, there is a growing demand to significantly strengthen the moral standards for candidates.

Aerial view of Gimcheon City Hall, Gyeongbuk

It is pointed out that anyone running as the People Power Party candidate in the conservative heartland of the TK region must possess a high level of morality that is competitive nationwide.

Especially with the possibility of an early presidential election being discussed, and the morality and integrity of key opposition figures emerging as core issues, there is an analysis that stricter candidate verification is necessary.

According to local political circles on the 23rd, the Gimcheon mayoral by-election scheduled for April is being held after Candidate A, who was elected in the 2022 local elections, was sentenced by the Supreme Court to two years in prison with a three-year probation for violating the Public Official Election Act (providing gifts during the Lunar New Year holiday).

Accordingly, voices calling for stronger verification of candidates' morality in this election are growing louder. In fact, it has been confirmed that many leading candidates have criminal records including drunk driving, embezzlement, and election law violations.

Candidate B has a total of five criminal records, including three cases of drunk driving, while Candidate C has a history of drunk driving and is currently under investigation after being reported to the Gimcheon City Election Commission for false information disclosure.

According to local political circles, "While the People Power Party strongly criticizes the judicial risks of Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, if an early presidential election becomes a reality, morality controversies will become a key variable," adding, "If there are moral issues with the People Power Party candidate in this Gimcheon mayoral by-election, it will be difficult to avoid the controversy of 'romance if I do it, adultery if others do it.'"

A key official of the People Power Party Gyeongbuk Provincial Party said, "We plan to conduct strict verification with morality as the top priority in the nomination process for the Gimcheon mayoral candidate," emphasizing again, "The nomination management committee will also conduct thorough screening to select a candidate that meets the public’s expectations."