People Power Party Nominates Ahn Gyo-jae for Suwon Mayor, Park Tae-kyung for Hwaseong Mayor

The People Power Party's Nomination Management Committee on April 28 finalized Ahn Gyo-jae as its candidate for Suwon special city mayor and Park Tae-kyung as its candidate for Hwaseong special city mayor. 

Committee Chair Park Deok-heum told reporters at the party's central headquarters in Seoul's Yeouido that the committee had completed the vote count for the internal primaries to pick the Suwon and Hwaseong mayoral nominees.

Park also outlined the next steps for National Assembly by-elections and rules on vote bonuses and penalties in party primaries. He said the party plans to post a notice on April 29 to accept applications for nominations in additional by-elections that arise, with filings accepted through April 30.

He said interviews for applicants will be held May 1, and the committee will move quickly to decide the nomination method and announce candidates. In districts holding primaries, voting will run for two days starting May 3, with final candidates to be announced on May 5.

The committee also approved standards for adding or subtracting points in primaries. Park said the party decided to reduce a portion of primary vote shares for candidates who previously served as lawmakers in the same constituency, in an effort to encourage newcomers to enter politics. Those who served three or more terms in the same district would face a 15% deduction in a two-way race and a 10% deduction in races with three or more candidates, he said.

Candidates viewed as having sharply low competitiveness after losing three or more times in the same district would face a 30% deduction in a two-way race and a 20% deduction in races with three or more candidates, he added.