Second-term lawmakers upend Suncheon council leadership race

Junior bloc sweeps all four standing committee chairs, sidelining three-term veterans

Second-term lawmakers aligned with the junior faction of the Suncheon City Council wielded decisive influence through behind-the-scenes negotiations in both the standing committee chair elections and the leadership vote for the council's 10th session.

In the standing committee chair elections held Wednesday, Lee Hyeon-jae was elected chair of the Council Operations Committee, Jang Gyeong-won of the Administrative Affairs Committee, Jeong Gwang-hyeon of the Culture and Economy Committee, and Yang Dong-jin of the Urban Construction Committee. All four are second-term lawmakers.

The four deputy committee chairs — Jeong Yeong-geun (Operations), Ju U-seong (Administrative Affairs), Kim Seong-ha (Culture and Economy) and Han Jeong-min (Urban Construction) — are all first-term members, while three-term veterans were pushed to the sidelines.

The council has 25 members in total: 19 from the Democratic Party, two from the Rebuilding Korea Party, two from the Progressive Party and two independents. People Power Party lawmaker Lee Se-eun withdrew from the race, leaving no conservative-party members on the council.

By seniority, the council includes one five-term member — Lee Bok-nam of the Rebuilding Korea Party — and four three-term members: Lee Yeong-ran, Jeong Hong-jun, Choe Mi-hui and Sin Hwa-cheol. The rest are first- or second-term lawmakers.

The junior-faction lawmakers also reportedly flexed their collective muscle ahead of the full council session that opened Tuesday, shaping the Democratic Party's internal deliberations over the leadership slate.

Rather than backing a senior incumbent supported by National Assembly member Kim Mun-su from the district, the group threw their weight behind Yu Yeong-cheol — a second-term member returning to the council after an eight-year absence — and secured his election as speaker in a surprise outcome.