Democratic Party Nominates Lee Kwangjae for Hanam Gap, Kim Yongnam for Pyeongtaek Eul, and Kim Namguk for Ansan Gap

Strategic Nomination Committee Announces Decisions on April 27

"Nomination Difficult for Former Deputy Director Kim Yong"

The Democratic Party of Korea has finalized its nominations for the by-elections to be held concurrently with the June 3 nationwide local elections, specifically for the Gyeonggi region. Former Gangwon Province Governor Lee Kwangjae has been strategically nominated for Hanam-gap, former lawmaker Kim Yongnam for Pyeongtaek-eul, and former lawmaker Kim Namguk for Ansan-gap.

The Democratic Party’s Strategic Nomination Management Committee announced on April 27 that it held a meeting and approved the review of these by-election National Assembly candidate nominations.

Yonhap News Agency

Chief Spokesperson Kang Junhyeon stated, “For Hanam-gap, a key battleground that was a razor-thin contest in the last general election, we have placed candidate Lee Kwangjae, who has always put the party before himself during difficult times.” He added, “Candidate Lee is a heavyweight politician who has served three terms as a lawmaker and as a metropolitan governor. He is the right person to quickly resolve major national projects for the region, such as the GTX extension, by connecting them directly to the central government.”

Regarding former lawmaker Kim Yongnam, Kang explained, “He made a significant contribution to expanding our base and achieving victory during the last presidential election. We believe he possesses strong competitiveness in the general election, backed by broad support that transcends political camps, enabling him to win even in challenging districts.”

Additionally, about former lawmaker Kim Namguk, Kang stated, “Until recently, he served as Secretary for Public Digital Communication in the Presidential Office, deeply understanding President Lee Jaemyung’s philosophy of governance and communicating with residents. With the solid organizational strength and deep understanding of local issues he built during his previous tenure as a lawmaker for Ansan-eul, he is expected to immediately lead our party to victory in the field.”

The party also clarified that Kim Yong, former Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute and a close aide to President Lee who had hoped to run in the Gyeonggi region, would not be strategically nominated in this by-election.

Secretary-General Cho Seungrae said, “Many inside and outside the party argued that former Deputy Director Kim, as a victim of a fabricated prosecution and someone who has made many contributions to the party and the president, should be given an opportunity. However, after comprehensively considering the overall impact on both the local and by-elections, we determined that it would be more appropriate not to nominate him.”

He added, “This also means that it will be difficult to consider nominating former Deputy Director Kim in any other region.”

Lee Yeonhee, Chair of the Party’s Strategic Planning Committee, stated, “I met with former Deputy Director Kim today and explained the circumstances in detail. I expect he will make a major decision for the sake of the party going forward.”

Furthermore, the Democratic Party explained that it plans to soon nominate Ha Jungwoo, Senior Presidential Secretary for Artificial Intelligence (AI) Future Planning, as a candidate. Secretary-General Cho said, “I understand that Secretary Ha’s resignation will soon be accepted. Once that happens, we will proceed with the party membership and nomination procedures for his recruitment.”

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