The Democratic Party of Korea finalized the matchup for the June 3 local election primary for North Chungcheong governor.
Kim Yi-su, the Democratic Party nomination management committee chair, said on the 13th at the Yeouido central party headquarters that "as a result of the meeting, all four who registered as candidates for the North Chungcheong governor primary were selected as primary candidates." The confirmed primary candidates are former presidential chief of staff Noh Young-min, former Jincheon County head Song Gi-seop, Presidential Committee for Decentralization and Balanced Development vice chair Shin Yong-han, and former Cheongju mayor Han Beom-deok.
Kim, the nomination management committee chair, noted that "the North Chungcheong governor primary will be conducted as a public participation primary that reflects 30% of dues-paying member votes and 70% of safe-number electoral college votes." In other regions, dues-paying member votes account for 50%, but in North Chungcheong, the weight of dues-paying member votes was reduced because of a party membership list leak.
Cho Seung-rae, the secretary-general, said the party is not considering a strategic nomination for the Busan mayoral race. Meeting with reporters that day, Cho said regarding the possibility of a strategic nomination for lawmaker Chun Jae-soo, "We will proceed according to the usual nomination procedures." The Democratic Party plans to conduct nomination interviews on the 16th if additional applicants for Busan mayor are confirmed.
The Democratic Party will brief on matters revealed in the candidate vetting process by the party's Integrated Verification Center on the 16th. Cho, the secretary-general, said, "We operated the Integrated Verification Center for a month, and the number of reports far exceeded 200," adding, "We found problems in three cases during the vetting process for basic local government head candidates."