Democratic Party Gwangju-si, Gyeonggi Governor Primary, Spread of 'Unfairness and Fraud Allegations'

Suspicions of 'Election Law Violations' Involving Local National Assembly Members and Candidates
Raised Issues Include 'Injunction Lawsuit to Nullify Gwangju Mayor Primary Election Result' and 'Jury Recruitment Fraud Allegations'

Shin Dongheon, a preliminary candidate for mayor of Gwangju City, Gyeonggi Province, is holding a one-person protest demanding a fair primary election. [Shin Dongheon Candidate Election Camp]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] As the candidate registration day for the June 1 local elections approaches, noise and allegations of irregularities surrounding the Democratic Party of Korea's nomination for the mayor of Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province are spreading.

Allegations such as 'violation of election laws' by the incumbent district member of the National Assembly and the nominated mayoral candidate, 'injunction lawsuit to invalidate the Gwangju mayoral primary decision,' and 'jury recruitment irregularities' have surfaced, making the election scene chaotic.

Shin Dong-heon, a former incumbent mayor and preliminary candidate, filed an application for 'confirmation of invalidity of the primary decision' and 'injunction for suspension of effectiveness' at the Seoul Southern District Court on the 9th through his legal representative.

Candidate Shin stated, "In this mayoral primary, a specific female candidate was given a 25% additional score, while I, the incumbent mayor, was given a 20% deduction, resulting in an unfair primary where I was actually disadvantaged by 45%," adding, "This is a situation where even Lee Jae-myung, a political veteran, cannot win," demanding a fair primary.

Candidate Shin particularly raised suspicions of unfairness, asking, "Is it because Candidate D is a former secretary-general of Lee Jae-myung’s presidential campaign team, or because of her impressive four-year career as a Gwangju city council member?"

Additionally, a preliminary candidate from the same party, Park Hae-kwang, filed an injunction lawsuit to suspend the execution of the primary results, which was held on the 10th at courtroom 310 (51st Civil Division, Judge Kim Jeong-gi) of the Seoul Southern District Court.

On that day, Park’s side stated, "In the response materials to the injunction lawsuit filed by Osan mayoral preliminary candidate Moon Young-geun, the Democratic Party’s central committee said that jurors were recruited via email, but in the response materials sent to Gwangju mayoral preliminary candidate Park Hae-kwang, it was stated that jurors were randomly selected by phone."

They continued, "However, it was confirmed that the jurors who attended both the Osan mayoral jury primary (2 p.m.) and the Gwangju mayoral jury primary (4:30 p.m.) held at the same location on the 1st were the same individuals," raising suspicions.

They added, "The central party’s emergency committee recruited jurors by different methods for the Osan and Gwangju mayoral primaries, so it is mysterious how the same jurors could have been recruited," and said, "We suspect that the central party’s emergency committee gave false answers in court."

Within the Democratic Party, there are also criticisms that "not only did the regional chairman fail to maintain neutrality, but also gave voting instructions to people likely to be selected as jurors in a situation where it was uncertain whether the jury system would even be implemented."

Furthermore, a phone recording file containing a statement by a local member of the National Assembly instructing party members not to support a specific preliminary candidate has reportedly been made public. The lawmaker claims this is 'groundless.'

Currently, the Democratic Party’s candidate for mayor of Gwangju, Gyeonggi Province, has been decided as Dong Hee-young. Candidate Dong previously served as an aide to Assemblyman Lim Jong-seong during the 20th National Assembly and accompanied Kim Hye-kyung, wife of candidate Lee Jae-myung, during the 20th presidential election.