Daegu: Rep. Joo Ho-young, a veteran six-term lawmaker from the People Power Party (PPP), is set to seek a court injunction following his exclusion from the party's nomination for the Daegu mayoral race in the upcoming June 3 local elections, officials announced on Wednesday.

According to Yonhap News Agency, the PPP's nomination committee decided to eliminate Joo and Lee Jin-sook, former head of the Korea Communications Commission (KCC), from the list of candidates for Daegu mayor. The committee plans to hold a preliminary primary among six other contenders. In response, an official close to Joo disclosed that the injunction would be filed either today or by tomorrow morning, at the latest.

Should the court grant the injunction, it would suspend the committee's "cutoff" decision, potentially disrupting the preliminary primary schedule that involves the remaining candidates. There is speculation that Joo might consider running as an independent, reminiscent of his decision during the April 13 elections in 2016, after facing a similar exclusion from the party's nomination.

Meanwhile, Lee Jin-sook has also expressed strong discontent with the nomination committee's decision. She publicly announced her protest on Monday and has filed a request for the committee to reconsider their decision.