[Profile] Supreme Council Member Hwang Myungseon of the Democratic Party... The 'Field Commander' to Lead Next Year's Local Elections

Local Autonomy Expert and Three-Term Former Mayor of Nonsan

Hwang Myungseon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (representing Nonsan, Gyeryong, and Geumsan in South Chungcheong Province), was elected as a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party on August 2.

Running unopposed for the Supreme Council seat vacated by former Supreme Council member Kim Minseok (currently Prime Minister), Hwang secured his victory by receiving 544,537 votes from party members at the party convention held at KINTEX in Ilsan.

Hwang was elected on his third attempt to become a Supreme Council member. He had previously run for the position at the 3rd party convention in 2018 and the extraordinary convention in 2021, but was not elected at those times.

This time, he solidified his decision to run after being nominated as a Supreme Council candidate at the Democratic Party’s Autonomy and Decentralization Democratic Leaders Conference (KDLC) held on July 7.

Although Hwang is a first-term lawmaker who entered the National Assembly through last year’s general election, he is a veteran politician. He began his political career in the early 1990s as a policy secretary to Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sil, and later served as the Seoul Metropolitan Party office chief for the Democratic Party in 1993 and for the National Congress for New Politics in 1995.

He is also regarded as an expert in local autonomy within the party, having served as a Seoul Metropolitan Council member in the third local elections in 2002, as a three-term mayor of Nonsan in South Chungcheong Province from 2010 to 2022, and as the president of the National Council of Mayors, County Governors, and District Chiefs.

During his tenure as mayor of Nonsan, he was the first among local government heads nationwide to implement practical policies such as the Violence and Abuse Response Reporting Center, global overseas training for all middle and high school students, and a 24-hour childcare center.

Hwang Myungseon, a candidate for the Supreme Council of the Democratic Party of Korea, is greeting at the 2nd Extraordinary National Party Members' Convention held at Kintex in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on the afternoon of August 2, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

During two by-elections held under Democratic Party leader Lee Jaemyung’s tenure, Hwang volunteered to live for a month in the election districts of Gokseong, Yeonggwang, Asan in South Chungcheong Province, and Geoje, earning the nickname “field commander” from President Lee.

In his speech as a Supreme Council candidate at the convention, he pledged to realize “party member sovereignty, where the will of the members moves the party,” and promised that next year’s local election proportional representation nominations would be decided by a full party member vote.

Hwang also emphasized, “Through autonomy and balanced development, I will improve the lives of local communities and citizens,” adding, “The nation can only thrive if the regions thrive.”

Previously, in his candidacy declaration on July 9, he had presented the end of rebellion, completion of reforms, realization of party member sovereignty, and implementation of a basic society, as well as strengthening autonomy and decentralization, as his campaign pledges. He stated, “With an overwhelming victory in next year’s local elections, I will guarantee the success of a government based on national sovereignty.”

▲Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province (born 1966) ▲Ph.D. in Public Administration, Kookmin University ▲Seoul Metropolitan Party Office Chief, Democratic Party ▲6th Seoul Metropolitan Council member ▲6th?8th Mayor of Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province ▲President, National Council of Mayors, County Governors, and District Chiefs ▲Deputy Secretary-General for Organization, Democratic Party of Korea