Democratic Party Gwangju Branch Notifies Bottom 20% Evaluation... Enters Local Election Phase

Nomination Process Accelerates as Preliminary Candidate Qualification Reviews Conclude

The Gwangju Metropolitan City branch of the Democratic Party of Korea has completed notifying elected officials of their bottom 20% evaluation results and finished the registration for preliminary candidate qualification reviews for the local elections, marking the official start of the party's internal schedule for the upcoming elections.

According to the Democratic Party's Gwangju branch on January 20, evaluations of incumbent officials-including basic local government heads and metropolitan and basic council members-have been completed, and notifications of the results began sequentially starting that day.

The bottom 20% evaluation group is expected to include one metropolitan government head (evaluated by the central party), one basic government head from Gwangju, three from Jeonnam, about four metropolitan council members from Gwangju, and approximately eleven from Jeonnam. Those who receive a bottom-tier evaluation will face a 20% deduction in the nomination process, forcing them to reconsider whether to run as Democratic Party candidates.

In particular, the race for basic local government heads in Gwangju is currently dominated by incumbents, so if any are included in the bottom 20%, significant changes in the electoral landscape of those districts are inevitable. However, the Democratic Party has stated that it will not disclose the evaluation results of incumbent officials to the public.

The Gwangju branch has also completed disciplinary notifications for those accused of illegal party membership recruitment. Although the appeals process remains, once those subject to severe or minor disciplinary action are finalized, it will become clear whether these individuals can run as Democratic Party candidates.

With the registration for preliminary candidate qualification reviews closing on this day, the pool of candidates for each district is expected to become visible soon. Accordingly, the Democratic Party plans to accelerate the substantive nomination process.

The key upcoming schedule is as follows: ▲ Notification of preliminary candidate qualification review results (late January to early February) ▲ Preliminary candidate registration (February) ▲ Deadline for public officials to resign (March 5) ▲ Party primaries (early March to early April) ▲ Finalization of candidates (mid-April) ▲ Official candidate registration (May 14-15).