The Democratic Party of Korea announced Wednesday that it has selected Woo Sang-ho, former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office, as its sole candidate for Gangwon Province governor in the June 3 local elections.
Kim Yi-su, chairman of the party's Nomination Management Committee, announced the decision during the first round of central committee screening results.
"He joined the party in 1999 and has served for 27 years," Kim said of Woo. "As spokesperson, he was the voice of the party, and he led the impeachment of Park Geun-hye in the National Assembly. When the party faced difficulties, he devoted himself as emergency committee chairman, and after the Lee Jae-myung administration took office, he dedicated himself to successful state affairs management as senior political secretary."
Kim added, "We determined that Woo's outstanding capabilities will meet the expectations of Gangwon Province. We sincerely ask for the interest and encouragement of Gangwon residents and the public."
Vice Chairman Cho Seung-rae told reporters, "With more than 2,000 candidates for the June 3 local elections, being named 'Nomination No. 1' carries significance. It shows special interest and affection for Gangwon Province."
Cho criticized incumbent Governor Kim Jin-tae of the People Power Party, saying, "Kim Jin-tae symbolizes the eight 'Yoon Suk Yeol Kids.' Despite Gangwon Province's unlimited potential, this clearly demonstrates how much damage occurs when the wrong leader is elected."
The committee plans to hold additional screening meetings on February 2 to review local election candidates and disclose progress. The committee also plans to announce some primary regions and related schedules. Strategic nominations for key battleground areas including Seoul and Busan are also expected to be discussed.
Regarding nomination rules for the integrated special city mayor election following the administrative merger of South Jeolla Province and Gwangju, officials said discussions are ongoing "considering the special circumstances that make managing nominations for integrated regions different from the past."
Meanwhile, the committee rejected an appeal by Jeju Governor Oh Young-hoon, who was placed in the bottom 20 percent in performance evaluations of incumbent metropolitan governors. With only five Democratic Party metropolitan governors, Oh was the sole member in the bottom tier.