"Our Party Support, I Am Overwhelmingly No.1"
[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Former Democratic Party leader Song Young-gil expressed anger after being notified of the Democratic Party's Strategic Nomination Management Committee's decision to exclude him from the nomination for Seoul mayor, saying it "essentially represents a preemptive strike opposing Lee Jae-myung's political comeback."
In an interview on the morning of the 20th with Gyeongin Broadcasting radio program 'Kim Seong-min's Current Topics,' Song said, "The logic that Song Young-gil cannot run because he is responsible for the presidential election inevitably points to Lee Jae-myung's responsibility for the presidential election defeat. It is inappropriate."
Earlier, it was reported that Song was notified late at night the previous day of the exclusion decision. On the 19th, the Democratic Party's Strategic Nomination Management Committee decided to exclude Song from the nomination for the Seoul mayoral candidate in the June 1 local elections, citing "responsibility for the presidential election defeat" as the reason.
Song raised his voice, saying, "When talking about responsibility for the presidential election defeat, Lee Won-wook, the head of the Strategic Nomination Committee, was the head of the campaign organization division, and Yoon Ho-jung, the emergency committee chairman, was also part of the campaign leadership. So, I asked if they bear no responsibility for the presidential election defeat."
He added, "I don't quite understand, and this is not a personal issue of Song Young-gil, but Seoul is an area that requires an all-out response."
He said, "Chairman Yoon officially stated that all senior party members should be prepared to run with the readiness to drink the poison cup, and after meeting with Chairman Yoon, I even moved my residence to Songpa. In such a situation, I don't understand the reason, and for the Democratic Party's victory, it is important that good people participate in the primary and become one team."
He continued, "When I decided to run for Seoul mayor, no one except former lawmaker Kim Jin-ae had declared candidacy. There was a mood of conceding defeat, as if handing over the Seoul mayor's office to Mayor Oh Se-hoon," emphasizing, "As a former party leader, I was ashamed of this appearance, and my challenge was not based on a personal political plan but was a result of responsibility, sacrifice, and dedication to the party."
Song claimed, "(According to polls) our party's support rate shows I am overwhelmingly first. Seoul has no such candidate, so excluding me and making a strategic nomination would be hard to accept."
Meanwhile, Yoon Ho-jung, the Democratic Party's Emergency Committee Chairman, after the emergency committee meeting on the same day, stated regarding the controversy over the exclusion decision, "The Strategic Nomination Committee's opinion is just a reference," and "The authority to decide the cutoff ultimately lies with the emergency committee."
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