Democratic Party Jeonnam Provincial Office Secretary's 'Exposure' Sparks Chairman's 'Audit Demand' Internal Conflict

Kim Yuseung Secretary General "Ordering service contracts at the drop of a hat... Too much favoritism in job allocation"

Shin Jeonghun Chairman "Noncompliance with orders... Facts will be revealed through central party audit"

The Jeonnam Provincial Party Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea has been caught up in an unexpected internal conflict.

The secretary-general, who is the person responsible for the practical management of the provincial party’s budget execution and operations, publicly criticized the chairman, who in turn requested an audit from the central party.

On the 21st, Kim Yuseung, secretary-general of the Democratic Party’s Jeonnam Provincial Party Committee, posted a message on Facebook titled "A sincere effort to prevent the Jeonnam Provincial Party Committee from becoming a one-man party," openly criticizing Shin Jeonghun, chairman of the Jeonnam Provincial Party Committee.

In the post, Kim stated, "According to the central party’s accounting guidelines, members of the National Assembly who serve as provincial party chairmen do not receive separate operating expenses. However, the former provincial party chairman spent 5 million won per month during the presidential election period, so following the opinion of the central party’s General Affairs Bureau, a 2 million won check card was created and provided." He added, "But Chairman Shin scolded me for 30 minutes, saying I disrespected him."

He continued, "At a dinner meeting with affiliated members of the National Assembly, he said that the party had 4 billion won but that 3 billion had to be spent within this year," and added, "I wondered where the idea of spending three-quarters of the party’s budget within one year came from, and I questioned whether he thought the party’s money was his own pocket money."

He also claimed, "Whenever I submitted a project report, I repeatedly heard from the chairman to 'place orders for services' or 'entrust operations,'” and stated, "As someone who has served as secretary-general three times, I have never seen a chairman openly favoring specific companies in a way that amounts to giving preferential treatment to certain firms or research institutes for any project."

Furthermore, he said, "Recently, I received a message from the central party’s General Affairs Bureau that the chairman is strongly demanding my transfer," and criticized, "Usually, a provincial party secretary-general serves for two years before moving, but requesting a replacement in less than a year is a typical act of venting frustration."

He added that there are more details to be revealed later.

In response, Chairman Shin Jeonghun of the provincial party strongly denied the allegations, stating that the secretary-general failed to comply with legitimate instructions.

Chairman Shin said, "I pointed out that the budget income and expenditure did not match and that this should not be done, but Secretary-General Kim did not comply," and added, "I was disappointed with Kim’s way of handling affairs, and it is true that I requested personnel action from the central party, but it must have been out of desperation."

He also stated, "There is a budget accumulating in the provincial party, and I instructed that it be executed according to the spending plan to somehow return this precious budget to party members, but he claims I am spending it as if it were my own pocket money," and concluded, "Since I have requested a party audit from the central party, the exact facts will soon be revealed."