The People Power Party has decided to reinstate Gov. Kim Young‑hwan of North Chungcheong — who had been excluded from the party’s June 3 gubernatorial primary — and allow him back into the contest.
Park Deok‑heum, chair of the party’s nomination committee, said after a meeting at the party’s Yeouido headquarters on April 2 that the committee will return the North Chungcheong governor’s race to the initial registration stage. All registered candidates except the incumbent will compete in a preliminary primary; the preliminary winner will then face the incumbent in a one‑on‑one final primary.
Under that plan, the original applicants — former Daegu high prosecutor Yun Gap‑geun, former national police chief Yun Hee‑geun, and former Chungju Mayor Cho Gil‑hyung — will compete in a preliminary round. The preliminary victor will then go head‑to‑head with Gov. Kim Young‑hwan in the main primary. The committee is reviving the so‑called “Korean Series” format that was discussed under former committee chair Lee Jung‑hyun.
The nomination committee also voted to accept an appeal from Lee Beom‑seok, the mayor of Cheongju, who had been cut from the race. Park said the committee reached that decision after an in‑depth review of local election conditions and the additional evidence Lee submitted during the appeals process. The Cheongju mayoral primary will follow the same Korean Series format as the governor’s contest.
On the Daegu mayoral primary, where Representative Joo Ho‑young — who was excluded — has filed for a temporary injunction asking the court to suspend the committee’s decision, Park said the committee will await the court’s ruling before making a final determination.
The committee also disqualified Kim Kwang‑jong, a former Jeonju‑eul parliamentary candidate and the sole applicant for the North Jeolla governor nomination, citing the committee’s screening and disqualification rules. Kim drew controversy for remarks made at a Jeonbuk provincial assembly press conference on March 31, reportedly saying he was “Democratic on the inside but People Power on the outside.”
