Lee Seung-yeon Demands Fair Primaries in Busan: What Does This Mean for Local Politics?

Translation result

[Point Economy] On the 26th, Busan City Councilor Lee Seung-yeon publicly denounced allegations that a nepotistic, strategic nomination is underway for the Suyeong District seat in the June 3 local elections and called for a fair primary.

Speaking at a briefing in the Busan City Council that afternoon, Lee argued that strategically nominating relatives of the mayor to a council charged with checking the executive undermines the foundations of local self-government. She said she is prepared to face any challenger and demanded assurances of a fair primary process.

Addressing recent intra-party rumors about strategic nominations and proposed constituency shifts, she criticized the nomination process as having been reduced to tactical maneuvering. After she announced she would defend her district, she said party members even posed questions on the assumption she would be cut from the race, casting doubt on the fairness of the process.

Lee noted that party leadership has repeatedly emphasized fair primaries and that the Busan mayoral contest was organized around a primary, but she said those principles do not seem to be applied in Suyeong District.

Rejecting the suggestion that incumbents could be excluded, she said there is no justification for cutting out a sitting councilor. She highlighted her legislative record and integrity — including awards for manifesto pledges and ordinances and the registration of virtual assets — and said she has devoted herself to the party and the district, yet faces baseless exclusion.

She added that she helped the party in the 2024 general election as the district’s only city councilor and that she finds it hard to accept being sidelined now.

Lee urged party leaders and the city party chapter to conduct a principled primary, warning that preferential strategic nominations could alienate local voters and damage the Busan mayoral campaign.

Meanwhile, she was elected in the 2022 local elections with the second-highest vote share among Busan regional assembly candidates.