The Gwangju City branch of the Democratic Party has finalized candidate slates and primary procedures for municipal head races ahead of the 9th local elections.
On March 14, the Gwangju chapter announced it will select candidates for the Dong-gu and Gwangsan-gu mayoral races through public participation primaries. If no candidate receives 50% or more of the vote, the field will be reduced to two and a runoff will be held.
The Dong-gu mayoral candidates are No Hee-yong, Jin Seon-gi, and Im Taek. The Gwangsan-gu candidates are Park Byung-kyu, Park Soo-gi, and Cha Seung-se.
With five candidates competing for Nam-gu mayor, the party will hold a preliminary primary to narrow the field to two, then determine the final nominee through a public participation primary. The candidates are Kim Byeong-nae, Kim Yong-jip, Seong Hyun-chul, Ha Sang-yong, and Hwang Kyung-ah.
For the eight-candidate contest in Buk-gu, the party will use a preliminary primary to reduce the field to five, followed by a public participation main primary. If the leading candidate fails to secure 50% or more of the vote, the top two will advance to a runoff. The candidates are Kim Dae-won, Kim Dong-chan, Moon Sang-pil, Shin Su-jeong, Oh Ju-seop, Jeong Da-eun, Jeong Dal-seong, and Jo Ho-gwon.
Metropolitan and local council candidates will be selected by 100% party-member voting. Women, youth, and newcomers with disabilities will be given priority for the 'Ga' (first) slot, and experienced candidates will be restricted from receiving that slot.
The party also added districts where metropolitan and local council candidates have been confirmed. For metropolitan seats: Seo-gu District 1 (Kang Su-hoon, Jeon Seung-il) and Buk-gu District 6 (Kang Seong-hoon, Kim Na-yoon, Chae Eun-ji, Heo Seok-jin). For local seats: Dong-gu Ga (Kim Hyun-sook, Moon Seon-hwa, Min Eun-sik, Lee Ki-seop, Lee Soo-young, Lee Ji-ae, Hong Du-seok) and Gwangsan Na (Gong Byung-cheol, Gong Woo-tae, Kim Mi-young, Kim Jeong-ja, Park Mi-ok, Park Se-hyang, Park Chang-hyun).
