Woo Won-sik Will Not Run for Party Leader... "I Will Return to the Field"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] Woo Won-sik, a member of the Democratic Party who had announced his intention to run in the party's next leadership election, declared on the 5th that he would not run.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the same day, Woo said on Facebook, "I have concluded that in this extraordinary situation, it is time to support the party's reform on the ground to overcome the crisis rather than engage in fierce competition."

He stated, "Since right after the general election, I decided to run for the next party leader and traveled across the country meeting party members and delegates. The next party leader is supposed to be a fair manager who oversees the next presidential primary. However, with two leading presidential candidates running for party leader, the nature of the party convention I envisioned has changed drastically."

He continued, "It is contradictory and difficult for me, who pledged to be a fair manager serving the presidential election and regime restoration, to compete with presidential candidates. I also had concerns about buffering the party convention to prevent excessive overheating and making the election process centered on values and policy lines."

Woo added, "Although I am stopping here this time, I sincerely hope this party convention will be a process to confirm the true nature of the Democratic Party with 176 seats. I will continue to work on the ground to create a ruling party that fights inequality and practices people-first governance through social grand compromise."