Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon and South Chungcheong Governor Kim Tae-heum, both prominent figures in the People Power Party (PPP), did not file for nomination in the June 3 local elections for provincial governor positions.
In contrast, 15 candidates including incumbent lawmakers filed for nomination in Daegu and North Gyeongsang Province (TK), the party's traditional stronghold. In the Honam region, considered barren ground for the conservative party, only one candidate filed in North Jeolla Province.
The PPP's Central Nomination Management Committee announced these results on May 8 after accepting applications from May 5 through the same day.
Three candidates filed for the Seoul mayorship: former lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook, who previously served as party innovation committee chair; Lee Sang-gyu, party chapter head for Seoul Seongbuk-eul; and Lee Seung-hyun, CEO of Infac Korea and part-time vice chairman of the Korea International Trade Association. Mayor Oh did not file, citing the need for changes in party direction as a precondition for local election victory. Five-term senior lawmaker Na Kyung-won and first-term Supreme Council member Shin Dong-wook declared they would not run.
In Gyeonggi Province, Supreme Council member Yang Hyang-ja and former lawmaker Ham Jin-gyu filed for nomination. Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min and lawmaker Kim Eun-hye, both polling frontrunners, announced they would not run. Former lawmakers Won Yoo-chul and Shim Jae-chul, who had been rumored as candidates, also decided against running. In Incheon, incumbent Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok was the sole applicant.
In the Chungcheong region, Daejeon Mayor Lee Jang-woo and Sejong Mayor Choi Min-ho each filed alone. South Chungcheong had no applicants after Governor Kim Tae-heum declined to file. Kim reportedly determined it inappropriate to apply before the Daejeon-South Chungcheong integration special bill is finalized. In North Chungcheong, four candidates filed: Governor Kim Young-hwan, former Daegu High Prosecutors' Office chief Yoon Gap-geun, former National Police Agency Commissioner Yoon Hee-geun, and former Chungju Mayor Cho Gil-hyung.
In Busan, Mayor Park Hyung-joon and first-term lawmaker Joo Jin-woo filed for nomination. In Ulsan, Mayor Kim Du-gyeom will face former Mayor Park Maeng-woo. In South Gyeongsang, Governor Park Wan-su will compete against three-term former lawmaker Cho Hae-jin.
In Gangwon Province, three candidates will compete: Governor Kim Jin-tae, former lawmaker Yeom Dong-yeol, and former Gaon Welfare Center CEO Ahn Jae-yoon. In Jeju, Moon Sung-yoo, former CEO of Korea Asset Management Corporation and a Ministry of Economy and Finance veteran, was the sole applicant.
In Daegu, the party's home turf, nine candidates filed: five incumbent lawmakers—Joo Ho-young, Yoon Jae-ok, Choo Kyung-ho, Yoo Young-ha, and Choi Eun-seok—along with former Korea Communications Commission Chair Lee Jin-sook, former lawmaker Hong Seok-joon, former Daegu Dong-gu District head Lee Jae-man, and Kim Han-gu, former auditor of Dalseong County Saemaul Association. In North Gyeongsang, six candidates filed: Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won, three-term lawmaker Lim Yi-ja, four-term former Deputy Prime Minister for Economy Choi Kyung-hwan, former lawmaker Baek Seung-joo, former Pohang Mayor Lee Kang-deok, and Kim Gwang-jong, former parliamentary candidate for Jeonju-eul.
The PPP originally planned to close applications at 6 p.m. but extended the online filing system until 10 p.m. The nomination committee will conduct document reviews starting the afternoon of May 9, followed by candidate interviews from May 10 to 12.