Democratic Party Begins Primary for First Jeonnam-Gwangju Unified Special Mayor

All Applicants to Compete in Primary
Top Five to Be Selected Through Speeches and Debates
Touring Vote System with Citizen Nomination Jury Under Consideration

The Democratic Party of Korea is set to begin the primary process to elect the unified special mayor for Jeonnam and Gwangju. With the passage of the administrative integration special act in the National Assembly, the party has, for the first time, established an internal primary framework to select a unified special mayoral candidate.

According to political circles and other sources on March 2, Kim Isu, Chairman of the Central Party Nomination Management Committee of the Democratic Party, met with reporters after the second meeting of the Nomination Committee at the central party headquarters in Seoul and announced that all candidates who applied for the Jeonnam-Gwangju unified special mayoral election have been selected as primary candidates.

Lee Isu, Chair of the Nomination Committee at the Democratic Party of Korea, is announcing the results of the nomination review on the 2nd at the party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News

With the passage of the Jeonnam-Gwangju Administrative Integration Special Act at the National Assembly plenary session the previous day, the upcoming local elections on June 3 will see the election of the first unified special mayor.

In the Jeonnam-Gwangju primary, the Democratic Party plans to narrow down the candidates through joint speeches and debate sessions by region and area. For the main primary, the party is considering a touring vote system, including a citizen nomination jury system in accordance with the party constitution and regulations.

Chairman Kim stated, "At the time of the main primary, I plan to propose to the Supreme Council a method of introducing the candidates through a touring vote system including the citizen nomination jury system, in order to embody the spirit of integration."

The citizen nomination jury system is a process in which citizens, either randomly selected or publicly recruited, participate as jurors in the nomination process.

The Democratic Party plans to complete the nomination process, including any runoff votes, by April 20.

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