Jang Dong-hyuk, the leader of South Korea's People Power Party, has expressed concern over the decision by Lee Jeong-hyun, the chair of the party's candidate selection committee, to exclude veteran politicians from contention for the Daegu mayoral election. In a Facebook post, Jang emphasized the need for a fair primary process in response to growing tensions regarding the candidate selection in Daegu and Chungbuk provinces. He highlighted the importance of resolving conflicts to focus on winning the local elections and appealed to Lee to consider the local sentiments in making decisions.

The controversy escalated as lawmakers from Daegu urged for fairness in the candidate selection process. Jang directly addressed these concerns, stating that the public and party members' opinions must be reflected in the decision-making process. Despite the push from party members for a more inclusive approach, Lee remains steadfast in his stance to prioritize generational change within the party, calling for the exclusion of senior politicians based on the need for new leadership.

Lee Jeong-hyun, while acknowledging Jang's inputs, reiterated his commitment to the principle of innovative nominations and maintained that the ultimate decisions regarding candidate selection will be driven by the party's future competitiveness and the electorate's expectations. He argued that without generational change, there can be no future progress, indicating a significant ideological divide within the party on how to approach candidate nominations for the upcoming elections.