Fifteen Candidates Apply for Supreme Council Member
Final List to Be Confirmed After Qualification Review
Five candidates, including former Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moonsoo, lawmaker Ahn Cheolsoo, lawmaker Jang Donghyuk, lawmaker Cho Kyungtae, and lawmaker Joo Jinwoo (listed in alphabetical order), have declared their candidacy for the People Power Party’s national convention party leader election, which will be held on August 22 next month.
The registration desk for party convention candidates set up at the People Power Party Central Office in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
The People Power Party’s Election Management Committee announced on July 31 that five people had registered as candidates for party leader during the two-day registration period that began on July 30.
For the Supreme Council election, which will select four members, a total of 15 candidates registered, including incumbent lawmakers Shin Dongwook and Choi Sujin. From outside the National Assembly, the list includes Kang Sunghyun, candidate in the 19th National Assembly election; Kim Geunsik, head of the Songpa-byeong district party committee in Seoul; Kim Minsu, former spokesperson; Kim Soyeon, attorney; Kim Jaewon, former Supreme Council member; Kim Taewoo, former mayor of Gangseo-gu, Seoul; Ryu Yeohae, former Supreme Council member of the Liberty Korea Party; Son Beomgyu, former head of the Incheon city party; Yang Hyangja, former lawmaker; Jang Youngha, attorney; Ham Unkyung, head of the Mapo-eul district party committee in Seoul; Hong Seokjun, former lawmaker; and Hwang Sihyuk, chairman of the Daegu Youth Innovation Academy.
According to the party’s constitution and regulations, if there is no female winner among the top four vote-getters, the female candidate with the highest number of votes will be elected as a Supreme Council member in place of the fourth-place candidate. Among the Supreme Council candidates, there are four women: attorney Kim Soyeon, former Supreme Council member Ryu Yeohae, former lawmaker Yang Hyangja, and lawmaker Choi Sujin.
For the one seat reserved for a youth Supreme Council member under the age of 45, lawmaker Woo Jaejun is the only incumbent lawmaker to run. From outside the National Assembly, Park Hongjun, former acting chairman of the People Power Party Central Youth Committee; Son Sujo, CEO of Leaders Club; and Choi Woosung, CEO of Cheongso-ui Pro, have declared their candidacies.
The Election Management Committee plans to finalize the list of candidates after a qualification review at a meeting on August 1. If there are more than four candidates for party leader or more than eight candidates for Supreme Council member, a preliminary election will be held on August 5-6, in which the votes of responsible party members and the results of a public opinion poll will each account for 50%. After that, those who advance to the main election will begin full-scale campaigning through joint regional speeches and televised debates.
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