The People Power Party selected its young proportional-representation candidates for the June 3 local elections through a public audition, and many of the 10 final winners are associated with far-right views. The results represent a sharp departure from the event’s stated goal of “innovation.” The fact that no women were among the winners is also likely to provoke controversy.
On March 30, the party announced the 10 final winners by region: Choi Jong-bu (Seoul), Lee Beom-seok (Incheon), Kim Han-seul (Gyeonggi), Lee Byung-hoon (Chungnam), Joo Ho-dong (Daegu), Heo Ji-hoon (North Gyeongsang), Kim Tae-hyun (Jeju), Bae Gwan-gu (Busan), Seo Young-il (Gangwon) and Kim Young-rok (South Gyeongsang).
All 10 winners are men. Because the Public Official Election Act requires that the No. 1 spot on proportional lists be filled by a woman, the party is likely to place these winners at No. 2, a position that typically ensures election. Party leaders and the nomination committee, however, say placements could change depending on each provincial party’s circumstances.
The People Power Party held the final public audition on March 28 with 42 contestants who had advanced to the last round. Winners were determined by combining on-site judges’ evaluations (30%) with scores from a 140-member citizen jury (70%).
Judges defended the all-male outcome by citing the jury’s dominant role. One judge who took part in the final told Pressian, “The citizen jurors’ votes carried so much weight; their role outweighed ours.” By contrast, the semifinal round that preceded the final was judged entirely by the panel.
Judges say the panel never discussed awarding bonus points to female candidates or applying a quota. “Women are included in the youth category, so no one proposed giving them separate bonus points,” one judge said by phone.
Ok Ji-won, a female applicant who ranked high in the preliminaries, raised procedural concerns on social media. She said, “All the top female candidates at the People Power Party’s youth final were eliminated; the winners are all men. Only some people who applied to serve on the final jury received notification texts from the youth office, so it’s unclear what criteria were used.”
The backgrounds of several winners also drew scrutiny. The list includes candidates who have promoted far-right positions, including the “Yoon Again” slogan and election-fraud conspiracy theories.
Kim Young-rok, the Gyeongnam winner and a current Changwon city councilor, has opposed impeaching former President Yoon Suk Yeol, defended actions that critics describe as endorsing insurrection, and promoted election-fraud conspiracy theories — positions that have already raised questions about his suitability.
Lee Beom-seok, the Incheon winner, previously co-chaired Sinjeondae-hyeop (Shinjeon National College Student Representatives’ Council), a far-right youth group that has promoted election-fraud claims and conspiracy theories about China “colonizing” Korea. Despite those ties, he was recruited by the People Power Party as a local-election candidate.
Choi Jong-bu, the Seoul winner, has connections to far-right cartoonist Yoon Seo-in and once filmed a YouTube broadcast that mocked the Owl Rock site where former President Roh Moo-hyun died.
Heo Ji-hoon, the North Gyeongsang winner, worked for the Yoon Suk Yeol campaign during the 20th presidential election and later served as a party deputy spokesperson. Observers say he has echoed election-fraud conspiracies.
