With the Democratic Party of Korea wrapping up its nominations for metropolitan and provincial governors ahead of the June 3 local elections, the Chungcheong region’s candidate lineup has taken shape everywhere except North Chungcheong. Only Daejeon will feature a rematch—former South Chungcheong Governor Yang Seung-jo and former Sejong Mayor Lee Chun-hee both failed to clear the primary. Nationwide, incumbent and former regional executives were eliminated in large numbers, a result widely read as the party privileging candidates with strong party-member backing over perceived stability.
The DPK completed its selection of nominees for all 16 provincial-level jurisdictions on the 18th with the choice of its Jeju gubernatorial candidate. In the Chungcheong area, the only rematch will be in Daejeon, where Democratic candidate Heo Tae-jeong will face People Power Party Mayor Lee Jang-woo. Plans for returns by former officeholders in Sejong and South Chungcheong collapsed.
The most notable feature of this primary cycle was the elimination of every incumbent regional executive. Kim Dong-yeon, who had been considered a likely finalist in the Gyeonggi contest, lost in the main primary, and Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon also failed to advance. The planned launch of the Jeonnam–Gwangju integrated special city will leave Governor Kim Young-rok and Mayor Kang Ki-jung vacating office simultaneously, and in North Jeolla the party’s expulsion of Kim Kwan-young cleared the way for Rep. Lee Won-taek to become the nominee.
Former regional executives were no exception. In Sejong, former Mayor Lee Chun-hee was defeated in the primary, and in South Chungcheong, former Governor Yang Seung-jo lost his bid. Among current and former DPK metropolitan and provincial leaders, Heo Tae-jeong is effectively the only figure who secured a place on the general-election ballot through the party primary.
Another clear trend was the rise of reformist and hardline factions. The DPK’s primaries combined party-member votes (50%) with general public opinion polls (50%), and candidates with solid party-member bases tended to perform best. Rep. Chu Mi-ae, chosen as the Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate, and Rep. Min Hyung-bae, selected for the Jeonnam–Gwangju integrated special city, illustrate this pattern. Rep. Lee Won-taek defeated Rep. Ahn Ho-young for the North Jeolla nomination despite facing a police investigation, and in South Chungcheong, Rep. Park Soo-hyun, the party’s chief spokesperson, overtook former Governor Yang to clinch the nomination.
Political analysts interpret these outcomes as evidence that the momentum of party-member-driven primaries trumped name recognition and administrative experience among current and former regional executives. In short, the ability to mobilize a committed base and present a clear political stance mattered more than incumbency or a comeback narrative when selecting candidates.
Having finalized its metropolitan and provincial nominations, the Democratic Party of Korea is now accelerating preparations for parliamentary by-elections that will be held alongside the local contests. The party is moving quickly from the primary phase into general-election mode, while also aiming to compete in conservative strongholds such as Ulsan and Daegu.
