Democratic Party Names Woo Sangho as First Candidate for June 3 Local Elections... Song Younggil Reinstated

Nomination Committee Announces Sole Candidate
Former Leader Song Moves Closer to By-Election Run

The Democratic Party of Korea has announced Woo Sangho, former Senior Presidential Secretary for Political Affairs, as its first nominee for the upcoming 9th Nationwide Local Elections on June 3, selecting him as the candidate for Governor of Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province. The party also completed the reinstatement process for Song Younggil, former Democratic Party leader, who is expected to run in the Incheon by-election.

On February 27, Kim Isu, Chair of the Nomination Management Committee, announced at the National Assembly that Woo Sangho would be the sole nominee for Governor of Gangwon Province following the first round of candidate screening. Once the approval process by the Party Executive Committee is completed, Woo’s nomination will be finalized. Kim stated, "Woo joined the Democratic Party in 1999 and has steadfastly protected the party for 27 years," adding, "The Nomination Committee determined that Woo’s outstanding capabilities, which have supported the party thus far, can meet the needs of Gangwon."

Lee Isu, Chair of the Nomination Management Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is announcing the results of the nomination screening at the National Assembly on February 27, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

At the Supreme Council meeting, Representative Jeong Cheongrae remarked, "This year, our first confirmed nominee has been decided considerably earlier than usual," and added, "From the central party to the provincial and city branches, preparations for a victorious local election in June are proceeding smoothly."

The Nomination Committee plans to sequentially announce the results of interview screenings going forward. Results for candidates who are effectively running unopposed, such as Kim Kyungsoo, Chair of the Local Era Committee (Gyeongnam), and Assemblyman Park Chan-dae (Incheon), are also expected to be revealed soon. For the Incheon mayoral race, Assemblyman Park Chan-dae is now the likely sole candidate following Assemblyman Kim Kyoheung’s decision not to run.

In Seoul (Kim Youngbae, Park Jumin, Park Honggeun, Jeon Hyunhee, Jeong Wonoh) and Gyeonggi (Kwon Chilsung, Kim Dongyeon, Yang Gidae, Choo Mi-ae, Han Junho), where there are as many as five preliminary candidates each, preliminary elections are expected to boost interest in the races. A party official commented, "These are highly symbolic regions, so it is likely that the races will proceed as primaries without a cutoff."

At a closed-door Supreme Council meeting on the same day, the Democratic Party also approved the reinstatement of former leader Song Younggil, who had left the party. Song hopes to run in Gyeyang-eul, Incheon, his political home district, but Kim Namjoon, former Presidential Spokesperson and a close aide to President Lee Jaemyung, has already announced his intention to run in the same district. Song stated in an interview with YTN Radio, "The will of the public and our party members is important, and I will follow the decision of the party leadership."

Meanwhile, the Nomination Committee dismissed an appeal by Oh Younghoon, Governor of Jeju, who was ranked in the bottom 20% in the evaluation of elected officials, thereby confirming its earlier decision. As a result, Governor Oh will receive a 20% deduction penalty during the nomination and primary process going forward.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.