[Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong] On the morning of the 19th, as candidates Kang In-gyu and Kim Byung-joo unified, claiming to judge fake democracy and demand innovation in the Democratic Party, the election campaign committee of Yoon Byung-tae, the Democratic Party candidate for mayor of Naju, immediately issued a statement demanding, “Independent candidate Kang In-gyu should now face Democratic Party candidate Yoon Byung-tae directly.”
The Yoon Byung-tae campaign committee said, “The citizens of Naju expect candidate Kang In-gyu to stop baseless frame agitation in the election and for a competition based on the principles of democracy to begin,” adding, “We call on candidate Kang In-gyu to engage in a final debate for a fair competition between mayoral candidates.”
Candidate Yoon Byung-tae had also proposed a final debate to independent candidate Kang In-gyu during the opening ceremony of his campaign office on the 11th.
In the statement, the Yoon campaign committee conveyed to the citizens of Naju, “We suggest urging independent candidate Kang In-gyu to focus on the Naju mayoral election, and we demand that independent candidate Kang In-gyu compete directly with Democratic Party candidate Yoon Byung-tae.”
They continued, “For any reason, refusing grassroots democracy’s flower, local elections, by putting forward a conflicted regional chairman is the very definition of ‘fake democracy,’” emphasizing, “The opponent of independent candidate Kang In-gyu is Democratic Party candidate Yoon Byung-tae.”
They further stated, “We ask Democratic Party members to strongly warn candidate Kang In-gyu, who distorts the sacred values and meaning of democracy while clinging to the greed for a third term, even as they criticize Kang In-gyu’s claims of judging fake democracy and Democratic Party innovation as double standards.”
The Yoon campaign committee urged, “Independent candidate Kang In-gyu has risen through the Democratic Party for 18 years but, despite causing the party difficulties through corruption, misconduct, and incompetence, he has neither apologized nor reflected, and now, after losing this primary, he counterattacks the party by calling it ‘fake democracy.’ We call for a firm judgment on Kang In-gyu’s betrayal.”
They added, “A truly democratic public official must possess integrity, honesty, and capability,” sharpening their stance by saying, “Having passed through the Ministry of Strategy and Finance and the Blue House, where the highest standards and expertise are required, Democratic Party candidate Yoon Byung-tae has been evaluated for his abilities by all governments, both ruling and opposition, and is ‘real democracy,’ not ‘fake democracy.’”
Moreover, they claimed, “Independent candidate Kang In-gyu, who betrayed the party that nominated him twice for mayor and the trust of 120,000 citizens, and whose corrupt administration led to three prosecution raids on Naju City and the arrest of his son, aides, public officials, and civilians, is ‘fake democracy.’”
The Yoon campaign committee proposed a final debate to independent candidate Kang In-gyu and stated, “From today, we will engage in a fair competition over a new vision, policies, and leadership for Naju, and we demand that the ‘fake democracy’ rhetoric, baseless claims of unfair primaries, and agitation led by the judgment of local lawmakers cease.”
The Democratic Party central committee added, “We ask independent candidates to promptly clarify the controversy over ‘unfair nominations,’ which they cite as their reason for running, so that the citizens of Naju who love and support the Democratic Party can unite even more through this local election.”
Naju=Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yuk-bong bong2910@asiae.co.kr
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