Kim "So far, Seondanghusa... Please allow a primary"
Urges to "Stop false statements online and offline"
As the Democratic Party of Korea accelerates its candidate selection process for the April 10 general election, controversy is arising in the Seoul Gwangjin-eul district. Kim Sang-jin, the Democratic Party's preliminary candidate for Gwangjin-eul, began an indefinite hunger strike on the 16th to protest the decision to grant a single nomination to Ko Min-jung, a Supreme Council member.
On the same day, Kim held a press conference in front of the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, stating, "I have put party interests above personal ones twice, in 2016 and 2020, but does it make sense to give a single nomination to Supreme Council member Ko, who was strategically nominated four years ago?" He added, "Please just allow a primary election. I have devoted myself to the Democratic Party and put party interests first, so am I not even allowed to ask for that?"
The day before, the Democratic Party's Public Office Candidate Recommendation Committee (hereafter, the Recommendation Committee) announced the results of the third round of candidate screening for a total of 24 constituencies. Among them, 10 constituencies were granted single nominations, including Seoul Gwangjin-eul, as well as ▲Seoul Seocho-eul (Hong Ik-pyo) ▲Busan Saha-gap (Choi In-ho) ▲Busan Yeonje (Lee Seong-moon) ▲Pocheon Gapyeong (Park Yoon-guk) ▲Gangwon Wonju-eul (Song Ki-heon) ▲Gyeongnam Gimhae-gap (Min Hong-cheol) ▲Gyeongnam Gimhae-eul (Kim Jeong-ho) ▲Gyeongnam Yangsan-eul (Kim Du-kwan) ▲Gyeongnam Changwon Uichang (Kim Ji-soo).
Kim said, "Many people have encouraged me to run as an independent, but I instead persuaded them to support Supreme Council member Ko as the campaign committee chair and helped again," adding, "I request Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, the Recommendation Committee, and the Re-examination Committee to just allow a primary election."
Sangjin Kim, Democratic Party preliminary candidate for Gwangjin-eul National Assembly. [Image source=Preliminary candidate Kim's Facebook]
On the other hand, Supreme Council member Ko stated on the same day via social media, "I am aware that Kim Sang-jin has been making sharp remarks about me not only at offline meetings of Gwangjin residents but also on YouTube broadcasts," adding, "I have never protested because I believe this is driven by his desire to burn his last political passion. I think that is the political courtesy I can extend to my competitor, Kim Sang-jin."
He continued, "Due to Kim's false statements, many voters and Democratic Party members are pointing fingers at me as a shameless person," and said, "What does he gain by doing this to me, who is already battered from fighting against the Yoon Seok-youl administration?" He appealed, "I can endure personal attacks, but I cannot understand why he is pushing me, who is standing at the edge of a cliff where one wrong step could lead to a fall."
Regarding Kim's claim on YouTube channel 'Lee Dong-hyung TV' and others that Ko provided office space free of charge, Ko criticized it as "a false statement that could constitute a violation of the Political Funds Act," and said, "Doesn't he know that bank records show deposits in my name?"
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