Ruling party to move swiftly on nomination for Gangneung by-election next April

The People Power Party decided on 17th to cancel its recruitment for Gangneung district chair and expedite its candidate nomination process, with a by-election scheduled for Gangneung, Gangwon Province, next April to fill a seat vacated mid-term. The party's Organizational Reinforcement Special Committee made the decision at a meeting held that day at party headquarters in Yeouido.

Secretary General Jung Hee-yong, who heads the special committee, told a briefing: "Considering that a National Assembly by-election is scheduled for Gangneung in April next year, we concluded it would be more efficient to link the process to the by-election nomination procedure rather than separately selecting a district chair, and resolved to cancel this recruitment process." Six people, mostly from the local area, were known to have applied for the Gangneung district chair post.

Meanwhile, the special committee will conduct three days of interviews starting that day with applicants for district chair positions in 35 city and county chapters, excluding Gangneung. It plans to assess candidates' qualifications through a comprehensive evaluation of their party identity and competitiveness.

"For districts where a single recommendation is possible based on the interview results, we will propose the district chair candidate to the Supreme Council; for other districts, we plan to select the district chair through a vote by responsible party members in the region," Jung explained. The leadership under Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk had decided to apply a direct election system for party members, introduced for the first time this time, starting with chapters where the district chair post is vacant.