Park Ji-hyun "Nominate No Young-min and exclude Song Young-gil? What is the standard?"... Lee Won-wook "Show consistency"

Democratic Party excludes Song Young-gil and Park Jumin from Seoul mayoral nomination

Park Ji-hyun, Co-Chair of the Emergency Response Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the emergency response meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 20th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Park Jihyun, Co-Chair of the Emergency Response Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated on the 20th that she would "correct the Seoul mayoral nomination according to the will of the people and party members" in response to the Strategic Nomination Management Committee's decision to exclude former leader Song Younggil and lawmaker Park Jumin from the Seoul mayoral candidate nomination. In response, Lee Wonwook, chairman of the party's Strategic Nomination Committee, pointed out, "I request a consistent attitude."

On the same day, Park posted on Facebook under the title "The Seoul mayoral nomination must go through a primary," saying, "Chungbuk nominated a person responsible for the real estate failure, which was the biggest cause of the election defeat. However, in Seoul, they say they will exclude the former party leader who was more devoted than anyone else during the presidential election but took overall responsibility for the election result and stepped down."

She continued, "Why is the standard different between Chungbuk and Seoul? Shouldn't candidate Noh Youngmin, who caused the biggest reason for the presidential election defeat due to real estate failure, bear more responsibility than candidate Song Younggil?" adding, "I don't understand what criteria are being used to nominate candidate Noh but exclude candidate Song."

She said, "A fair primary must be held with all preliminary candidates who applied for the Seoul nomination participating. Anyone who wants to become the mayor of Seoul should confidently and willingly participate in the Democratic Party primary," and added, "Not holding a primary for the Seoul mayoral election in the current situation is no different from declaring defeat."

Finally, Park concluded her post by saying, "It is our Emergency Response Committee's responsibility to correct the Strategic Nomination Committee's mistake," and "We will gather wisdom to ensure that the nomination is a 'people's nomination' for winning the local elections, not a 'factional nomination' reflecting the interests of specific forces."

Lee Won-wook, Chair of the Strategic Nomination Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

In response, Lee posted on Facebook urging Park to maintain a consistent attitude. Lee said, "Chairwoman Park has already publicly criticized candidates Song Younggil and Noh Youngmin, stating that it is inappropriate for those responsible for the presidential election and real estate issues to run."

He added, "The Strategic Nomination Committee's decision this time is based on the side effects of unjustified candidacies pointed out by Chairwoman Park, the negative impact on nationwide elections, the recent notable decline in approval ratings in Incheon, and the results of various surveys conducted by the Strategic Nomination Committee," explaining, "It was a carefully considered decision to exclude candidates who are not competitive and only cause side effects."

He said, "As the person responsible for this decision, I acted with the determination to stake my political conscience, parliamentary seat, and political life solely on winning the local elections. I will continue to do so," and criticized, "Calling this a factional nomination when it is not one makes me want to ask if you are viewing this issue from a factional perspective."

Meanwhile, former leader Song claimed that the party's Strategic Nomination Committee's decision to exclude him from the nomination was "essentially a preemptive strike opposing former candidate Lee Jae-myung's political comeback."

He appeared on Gyeongin Broadcasting radio that day and said, "The logic that Song Younggil cannot run because he is responsible for the presidential election inevitably links to former candidate Lee's responsibility for the presidential election defeat," calling it "inappropriate."

He added, "Taking responsibility does not mean going to the rear to rest or withdrawing from the front line," and said, "Truly taking responsibility means leading the most difficult fight and responding to the demands and expectations of the people and party members."