The People Power Party's nomination committee said it will decide by Tuesday at the latest whether to nominate former Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk for the by-election in Gongju-Buyeo-Cheongyang in South Chungcheong Province, where he has declared his candidacy.
"We have set the schedule to conduct interviews by Tuesday, the 7th. If the party's ethics committee meets before then, we must make a decision by late Tuesday at the latest," Park Deok-heum, chairman of the People Power Party's nomination committee, told reporters after a meeting at the central party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, on Thursday.
The ethics committee had initially planned to discuss whether to recognize Chung's eligibility to run in the primary and his application qualifications over the weekend. However, it postponed the meeting once as the nomination controversy grew, and canceled the meeting again on Thursday.
According to the People Power Party's constitution and bylaws, eligibility to run for office is restricted in cases of trial or indictment. Chung has been indicted by the insurrection special prosecutor on charges related to the "alleged non-appointment and non-nomination of Constitutional Court justices."
"If the ethics committee completes its review before Tuesday and determines that he is 'not qualified for nomination,' there is no need for further discussion," Park said. "However, if he is deemed qualified, we will conduct a review on Tuesday, hold the interview, and make a decision." He added, "If the ethics committee makes a decision as early as tomorrow, the nomination committee could also convene a meeting tomorrow and wrap things up."
If the ethics committee determines that Chung has eligibility to run, the nomination committee plans to further review whether to apply a cutoff (nomination exclusion), a single-candidate nomination, or a primary.
Chung pushed back on Facebook on Thursday, writing, "A person indicted on charges of engaging in key insurrection-related duties has been selected as our party's candidate for metropolitan mayor. Who raised objections saying this person should not be nominated?"
Meanwhile, the People Power Party's nomination committee will announce the results of the primary for Busan's Buk District A on Friday. Former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon is running as an independent in that district, along with Ha Jung-woo, former senior presidential secretary for AI and future planning at the presidential office.
