"'Primary Election Defeat' Yoo Seung-hee Begins Hunger Strike, Vows to Fight Until Justice Prevails in the Democratic Party"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Yoo Seung-hee, a member of the Democratic Party who was eliminated in the primary for the Seongbuk-gap district in Seoul, has begun an indefinite hunger strike, demanding the disqualification of former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Kim Young-bae from candidacy.

On the morning of the 20th, Yoo held a press conference at the National Assembly and said, “The party leadership should invalidate the nomination of Seongbuk-gap preliminary candidate Kim Young-bae and until a re-nomination decision is made, I will begin an indefinite hunger strike starting today.”

Yoo has claimed that Kim’s camp instructed, encouraged, and induced many voters in the electoral district to provide false responses regarding gender, age, and residence to influence the opinion poll results. On the 10th, Yoo’s side filed a complaint with the prosecution accusing Kim of violating the Public Official Election Act.

Yoo stated, “The manipulation of opinion polls not only obstructed the Democratic Party’s nomination screening process, which should be conducted fairly and transparently, but also distorted the will of the voters in the district, constituting a shameless criminal act aimed at securing an unfair nomination,” and added, “This is a serious criminal act that could very likely lead to disqualification upon election.”

She further urged, “The Democratic Party’s Election Commission and Supreme Council must immediately disqualify Seongbuk-gap candidate Kim Young-bae and re-nominate the Democratic Party candidate for Seongbuk-gap. Do not leave the allegations of election fraud in the party primary to the hands of the prosecution. Do not miss the opportunity for the party to correct this itself.” She also emphasized, “(I will not leave the party but) I will fight on the 2nd floor of the National Assembly Main Building, where the party leader’s office is located, and I will continue the struggle until the justice of the Democratic Party, which has a 65-year history, is restored.”