[iNews24 reporter Ahn Young-rok] Applications for People Power Party nominations for local executive posts in North Chungcheong Province averaged 2.73-to-1.
On March 9, the People Power Party’s North Chungcheong provincial office said it had closed applications for mayor and county head nominations in 11 local jurisdictions for the 9th nationwide local elections, receiving a total of 30 applications.
Four people applied for the Cheongju mayoral nomination, which will be reviewed by the national party: Seo Seung-woo, former deputy governor of North Chungcheong Province; Son In-seok, former special political aide to the provincial government; Lee Beom-seok, the incumbent mayor of Cheongju; and Lee Uk-hee, an engineer at SK Hynix.
Four candidates entered the race for Chungju mayor: Kwon Hyuk-jung, former deputy director at the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism; Kim Sang-gyu, former president of the North Chungcheong Science and Technology Innovation Institute; Lee Dong-seok, a former presidential office administrative officer; and Jeong Yong-geun, director of the Chungju Population and Future Forum.
In the Jecheon mayoral contest, applicants include incumbent Mayor Kim Chang-gyu; Lee Chan-gu, chair of the Jecheon Development Committee; Lee Jae-woo, former director of total project cost management at the Ministry of Economy and Finance; and Lee Chung-hyung, spokesperson for the People Power Party’s central committee.
![People Power Party’s North Chungcheong provincial office. [Photo: iNews24 DB]](https://contents-cdn.viewus.co.kr/image/2026/03/CP-2023-0087/image-ecbb1324-9704-4416-b843-1258b2dfb7cd.jpeg)
Five candidates filed for the Jeungpyeong county chief race. They are Kim Jang-hoe, chair of the provincial party’s special committee on organizational strengthening; Park In-seok, former vice chair of the Jeungpyeong County Council; Lee Min-pyo, former director of agriculture and construction for Goesan County; Lee Hyun-jae, former managing director in charge of operations at MBC; and Choi Jae-ok, former chair of the Jeungpyeong County Sports Council. It is the most hotly contested race among the local contests.
Three candidates are running for Yeongdong county chief: Kim Guk-gi, a member of the North Chungcheong Provincial Assembly; Yoon Seok-jin, former chair of the Yeongdong County Council; and Jeong Young-cheol, the incumbent county head.
For Danyang county chief, incumbent Kim Moon-geun and provincial assembly member Oh Young-tak have applied. In Okcheon, two candidates applied: Kim Seung-ryong, former director of the Okcheon Cultural Center, and Jeon Sang-in, a parliamentary aide.
In the Jincheon race, applicants include Kim Dong-gu, vice chair of the People Power Party’s central committee administrative and autonomy division, and Lee Yang-seop, chair of the North Chungcheong Provincial Council. For Eumseong, former vice county governor Park No-hak and former Cheongju deputy mayor Im Taek-su are competing.
Only the incumbents applied in the Boeun and Goesan county chief races, with Choi Jae-hyung and Song In-heon filing respectively.
The North Chungcheong provincial party will accept applications for provincial assembly and local assembly nominations through the 10th and 11th, respectively.
After screenings and interviews, the party plans to finalize its slate of candidates by the 10th of next month.
