7 out of 9 incumbents in Chungcheong to content in primary

Seven out of nine incumbent lawmakers of the People Power Party's Chungcheong region will contend in the primary. Only two lawmakers, Jeong Jin-seok (serving his 5th term) and Seong Il-jong, received single nominations. Despite the relative stability in personnel changes in Chungcheong thus far, a significant number of incumbent lawmakers are facing primary elections. The party leadership's pre-announcement regarding nominations for the Yeongnam region highlighted, "Following an evaluation of active members, the Yeongnam region had the highest number of cutoff targets," escalating tensions surrounding potential shifts in representation within the Yeongnam region.

On Friday, People Power Party Nomination Management Committee Chairman Chung Young-hwan conducted a briefing at the central party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, revealing the outcomes of the nomination interviews for Chungcheong, Gyeonggi, and parts of South Jeolla. Alongside Jeong and Seong, lawmaker Kim Hak-yong (serving his 5th term) and Song Seok-jun secured single nominations.

Currently, nine active lawmakers of the People Power Party have garnered single nominations from their respective constituencies, two each from Seoul, Incheon, and South Chungcheong, and three from Gyeonggi Province. Notably, among 26 incumbent People Power Party members representing these regions, only one out of every three has secured a single nomination.


Jun-Il Kim jikim@donga.com