Song Gap-seok: "People Power Party Should Stop Talking About 'One-Party Monopoly' and Field Candidates First"

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Song Gap-seok, chairman of the Gwangju Metropolitan City Party Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized on the 19th the remarks made by Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, and Joo Ki-hwan, candidate for Gwangju mayor, who said they would "break the Democratic Party's monopoly," saying, "The People Power Party should first field candidates in the Honam region."

Song said, "The People Power Party has only 65 candidates in the Honam region, which is just 9.3% compared to the Democratic Party's 697 candidates," emphasizing, "It is absurd to talk about the Democratic Party's monopoly when they have nominated so few candidates in the Honam region."

He continued, "The Democratic Party has nominated 161 candidates in Daegu and Gyeongbuk, which are classified as 'difficult areas,' accounting for 31.1% of the People Power Party's candidates," and added, "If you extend the scope to include Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, the Democratic Party has 583 candidates compared to 1,095 People Power Party candidates in the entire Yeongnam region, which amounts to as much as 53.2%."

He further stated, "The Democratic Party, as a national party based on broad public support, continuously challenges difficult areas based on the values of national unity and local autonomy despite tough conditions," and added, "The People Power Party should stop misleading citizens and first reflect on why they have failed to field candidates in the Honam region."