North Korea Criticizes "Backward Political Reality Revealed After April 7 By-Election"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] North Korean media criticized the April 7 by-elections held to elect the mayors of Seoul and Busan on the 14th. They described the elections as marred by slander and lawsuits, calling it an "election that revealed a backward political reality."

The external propaganda outlet 'Tongil-ui Mea-ri' (Echo of Unification) stated in a commentary on the same day, "This supplementary election (by-election) fully exposed that what is called politics in South Korea is not progress but regression of society, going against public sentiment and intensifying confusion, serving only as a 'hammer'."

The media criticized, "The candidates from both ruling and opposition parties spewed unbearable slanders such as 'trash,' 'cancer patient,' 'severe dementia,' and 'suicide,' as if competing over whose mouth smells worse," calling it a "rampage of power maniacs."

Regarding the mutual accusations between People Power Party candidate Oh Se-hoon and People Party candidate Ahn Cheol-soo, who competed in the opposition candidate unification primary, it claimed, "It clearly shows the ugliness of the conservative forces who do not hesitate to stab even those who promised to join hands for power."

It also mentioned that there were 14 lawsuits and complaints filed against each other by the ruling and opposition candidates for Seoul and Busan mayoral elections for violations of the Public Official Election Act, saying, "Although the election is over, all previous candidates including the winners are in a position to be summoned by investigative agencies."

Furthermore, it added, "This political atmosphere that disrupts society with fights for party interests and power struggles without any concern for people's livelihood should be overturned as soon as possible."