Will the Gwangju Special Mayor Primary Debate Be Fair? Candidates Split Amid Controversy!

Withdrawals have sparked accusations of unfairness in the Democratic Party’s preliminary debates to select the first integrated special mayor for Jeonnam–Gwangju, the party’s largest support base.

Originally, eight candidates were to split into Groups A and B for debates of four candidates each, but two candidates in Group B announced they would not participate.

Local political sources say that on March 16, Lee Byung-hoon, vice chair of the Democratic Party’s Honam special committee, announced his withdrawal from the Jeonnam–Gwangju special mayor preliminary race.

Lee said, “The standard for a special mayor should be competence. I am withdrawing from an election that moves too fast to allow proper evaluation of candidates.”

Noting that his exit changes the preliminary debate lineup from A:4/B:3 to A:4/B:2, he suggested, “We should rebalance to 3:3 to protect fairness among the remaining candidates.”

“One team with four participants and the other with two will make meaningful debate difficult,” he added. “We should redraw the groups to 3 vs. 3.” He urged citizens to watch the debate broadcasts closely and judge candidates on policy.

Earlier, Rep. Lee Gae-ho (Damyang–Hampyeong–Yeonggwang–Jangseong) also announced he would skip the primary to protest the collapse of plans to introduce a citizen-jury system, saying he felt deeply humiliated that his opportunity was taken away without discussion among candidates.

With two candidates withdrawing, six remain, but the preliminary debate schedule still lists Group A with four and Group B with two.

The joint debates on March 17–18, split into two groups, will select five of the six to advance to the main race.

While the debates give candidates their best chance to demonstrate competitiveness and capability, critics worry that the group assignments are unbalanced.

Group A on March 17 includes Kim Young-rok, Kang Ki-jung, Joo Cheol-hyun, and Min Hyung-bae (ballot order); Group B on March 18 includes Jung Jun-ho and Shin Jung-hoon (ballot order). Both will air on Gwangju MBC starting at 5:20 p.m.

Because stronger contenders are concentrated in Group A and Group B has fewer participants, interest in the latter’s debate may be lower.

To make matters worse, Lee’s withdrawal is expected to shorten the allocated airtime for the debates.

For that reason, candidates in Group B argue, “It’s obvious which debate—one with four candidates or one with two—will draw viewers.” They say the party should reassign groups now or hold a single debate with all six candidates to ensure fairness.

By contrast, candidates in Group A have not raised strong objections to the current assignments.

A Democratic Party election committee official said, “Candidates drew lots at random for the group assignments, and we did not anticipate withdrawals.” The official added that staff could discuss adjustments, but the schedule is tight and changes would be difficult.