Rep. Joo Ho-young, who was cut from the People Power Party’s primary for Daegu mayor ahead of the June 3 local elections, failed again to win a court order suspending the party’s decision.
On the 22nd, the Seoul High Court’s Civil Division 25-1 rejected Joo’s appeal of a lower-court ruling that denied his request for an injunction to halt the effect of the party’s cutoff decision. The panel, led by Presiding Judges Lee Kyun-yong, Hwang Byung-ha and Han Chang-hoon, appeared to agree with the lower court that there was no serious defect in the nomination review process warranting judicial intervention.
The party’s nomination management committee had previously decided to cut Joo, a six-term senior lawmaker, and Lee Jin-sook, a former chair of the Korea Communications Commission, and to hold a preliminary primary among the remaining six candidates. Joo filed for an injunction at the Seoul Southern District Court, calling the decision unfair and in violation of party rules, but the court rejected the request on the 3rd.
In that ruling, the court said the submitted materials did not make it clear that the party’s screening had “markedly lost objective rationality” or involved a serious illegality such as a procedural violation. Joo filed his appeal with the Seoul High Court on the 8th.
With the high court also siding with the party, the Daegu mayoral race is expected to shift. Joo has said he would “keep all options open and watch carefully,” signaling he could run as an independent if his injunction bid was rejected.
If Joo runs as an independent, he would face Democratic Party candidate Kim Boo-kyum, the People Power Party nominee still to be chosen between Choo Kyung-ho and Yoo Young-ha, Lee—who is also weighing an independent run—and Lee Soo-chan, head of the Daegu chapter of the Reform Party.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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