DP announces primary slate amid heated factional rivalry

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DP announces primary slate amid heated factional rivalry

Published: 06 Feb. 2024, 18:43

SARAH KIM
kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr

Im Hyuk-baek, chairman of the Democratic Party’s (DP) nomination committee, announces the results of the first round of screening of candidates for the April 10 general elections at the DP headquarters in Yeouido, western Seoul, Tuesday. [NEWS1]

The liberal Democratic Party (DP) on Tuesday announced it would hold primaries for 23 constituencies to select candidates for the April 10 general elections.

This comes as a fierce battle unfolds between politicians vying for DP nominations who belong to the faction supporting DP chief Lee Jae-myung and those contesting them.

Another 13 constituencies have single candidates, announced the DP's nomination committee after their first round of screening of candidates for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

"The DP candidates announced today can be described as the vanguard for our party's sure victory in the 22nd general elections," Im Hyuk-baek, chairman of the nomination committee, said Tuesday. "They must become warriors who realize the national aspiration to overthrow the prosecutorial dictatorship and judge the incompetent Yoon Suk Yeol administration."

After their preliminary screening, the committee announced that among the 36 constituencies, 15 have incumbent DP lawmakers.

Divided by region, they included three constituencies in Seoul, five in Busan, two in Daegu, three in Gwangju, two in Daejeon, two in Ulsan, three in Gyeonggi, four in South Gyeongsang, four in North Gyeongsang and one each in North Chungcheong, North Jeolla and Jeju.

The nomination committee, which has been screening candidates over the past week, has warned against mudslinging in the competition between candidates for nominations and called for fair competition.

Pro-Lee politicians have been declaring their candidacies in constituencies of incumbent lawmakers who are against Lee, leading a battle of nerves with just over two months left until elections.

Gwangju's Dong and Nam A constituency is one of the races catching attention. It has narrowed down to a two-way race between its incumbent Rep. Yoon Young-deok, a first-term lawmaker, and Jeong Jin-wook, a special adviser on political affairs of the pro-Lee faction. Former Land Minister Noh Hyeong-ouk, who served in the Moon Jae-in administration, didn't make the cut.

In Daejeon's Dong District, Rep. Jang Chul-min, a first-term lawmaker considered anti-Lee, will face off against Hwang In-ho, a former chief of Daejeon's Dong District Office who is of the pro-Lee faction.

In the case of Gwangmyeong in Gyeonggi, the primary race will be held between incumbent lawmaker Lim O-kyeong, a pro-Lee first-term lawmaker, and Lim Hye-ja, a former senior Blue House staffer who belongs to a faction that supports former President Moon Jae-in, who was considered a political rival of Lee.

Seoul constituencies contested in the DP primaries included those in Songpa and Seodaemun districts.

The competition is fierce in eastern Seoul's Songpa B District, where a three-way battle is unfolding between Park Ji-hyun, an activist and former DP interim co-chief, Song Ki-ho, a Songpa regional committee chair, and Hong Sung-ryong, an adjunct professor at Hanyang University. Rep. Bae Hyun-jin of the conservative People Power Party (PPP), who was recently attacked by a teenager, currently represents Songpa B District.

Voting for the primary race will be held over three days starting from Feb. 19, and the results will be announced on Feb. 21.

The primary race will reflect 50 percent of votes from party members and 50 percent from public opinion polls. The results will confirmed by the DP's supreme council.

Most DP primaries in the metropolitan area are seeing incumbent lawmakers being challenged by outside candidates.

More primary constituencies are expected to be announced after the Lunar New Year holiday, which runs from Friday to Monday.

Im, a Korea University professor emeritus, was appointed election nomination chief in December to take charge of nominations as a neutral figure outside the DP amid tensions between rival factions within the party.

"I hope that those who unintentionally contributed to the creation of the prosecution regime of Yoon Suk Yeol will show a responsible attitude," Im said Tuesday. The remarks appeared aimed at members of the previous Moon government who contributed to soaring real estate prices and other social problems.

He also urged senior politicians to make "responsible decisions that pave the way for their juniors."

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]