Lee Cheol-woo, the People Power Party candidate for North Gyeongsang governor, won the June 3 local elections, securing a third term. Among the People Power Party's metropolitan mayor and provincial governor candidates in this election, he was cited as having remained relatively safe from the early stages of the race. It also draws attention that, after overcoming cancer last year, he again won voters' support in an election.
The candidate was born in 1955 in Gimcheon, North Gyeongsang. He graduated from Gimcheon High School and the Department of Mathematics Education at the College of Education at Kyungpook National University, and earned a master's degree in political science from the Graduate School of Public Administration at Yonsei University.
His first job was as a teacher. Using his major, he taught mathematics at Hwaryeong Middle and High School in Sangju, and at Sinpyeong Middle School and Danmil Middle School in Uiseong. He then entered the Agency for National Security Planning through open recruitment in 1985 and served as a Director General at the National Intelligence Service, spending about 20 years in the intelligence community.
His ties with politics began when he served as vice governor for political affairs of North Gyeongsang Province. He then ran for the National Assembly in Gimcheon and won three consecutive terms from the 18th to the 20th. In the National Assembly, he served as chair of the Intelligence Committee, executive secretary of the Special Committee on Constitutional Amendment, and as secretary-general and supreme council member of the Liberty Korea Party.
He was first elected North Gyeongsang governor in the 2018 local elections. After winning a second term in 2022, he won again in this election to become a three-term governor.
Last year, he disclosed that he had battled cancer. It is known that he overcame the illness while receiving treatment at a local hospital rather than one in the Seoul metropolitan area. The candidate said, "A life regained is not time given to rest," adding, "It is time to shoulder heavier responsibility for North Gyeongsang and the Republic of Korea."
During the ninth popularly elected term, the candidate is expected to focus on completing the core policies he has been pursuing. A representative task is breaking ground for the Daegu–North Gyeongsang integrated new airport. The integrated new airport is one of the biggest pending issues for Daegu and North Gyeongsang. Daegu City asked the Ministry of National Defense in 2016 to relocate the military airport, and the relocation site was finalized in 2020, but construction has not begun because the financing method has not been settled.
Regarding the integrated new airport project, the candidate said, "If the Lee Jae-myung administration does not actively support it, Daegu and North Gyeongsang will participate as co-project operators and review all funding measures, including the issuance of local government bonds."