Song Gap-seok "Unknown Opinion Poll Conducted in Constituency... Deja Vu of the 19th General Election"

List of Bottom 20% Incumbents in Opposition Party Evaluation
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Song Gap-seok, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker

On the 19th, Song Gap-seok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "In my constituency (Gwangju Seogap), two mysterious opinion polls featuring female candidates are being conducted. It feels like a d?j? vu of the 2012 19th general election." The "mysterious opinion polls" mentioned by Song refer to recent polls conducted by the Democratic Party at the central party level, excluding some members such as non-mainstream and senior lawmakers, causing discord within the party.

There is widespread concern inside and outside the political circle that these opinion polls might be a preliminary move to pave the way for pro-Myeong candidates. Previously, it was confirmed that an opinion poll was conducted in Incheon Bupyeong, the constituency of four-term senior lawmaker Hong Young-pyo, targeting only Lee Dong-joo (first-term, proportional representative) and recruited talent Park Seon-won, former first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service, instead of Hong. Additionally, opinion polls excluding the names of Lee In-young (four-term, Seoul Gurogap), Noh Woong-rae (four-term, Seoul Mapo-gap), and Song Gap-seok (second-term, Gwangju Seogap) were also conducted.

On the same day, Song wrote on Facebook, "The 22nd general election is an election that the Democratic Party of Korea cannot afford to lose," but added, "However, this is being shaken." He noted that the 2012 19th general election was also predicted to be an election the Democratic United Party could not lose, yet they lost, and said a similar situation is occurring now.

He explained, "During the 2012 party primary process, the Seogap constituency suddenly became a female strategic district, and candidates who were leading in first and second place, including myself, were excluded. In fact, a female candidate who was not the one the leadership intended to nominate ended up winning unexpectedly." He added, "All over Gwangju, the primaries are causing turmoil. The 'Spring of Gwangju' is unsettled." Song said, "In a crisis where people's livelihoods are collapsing, democracy is being trampled, and security is precarious, the Democratic Party could become a sinner of history, and this thought keeps me restless. Not only those who lead this situation but also those who passively watch are sinners of history."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party's nomination management committee has set a plan to individually notify the "bottom 20% of incumbent evaluations" this week. These members will receive a 20% deduction in primary votes (for those ranked 10-20% from the bottom) or a 10% deduction (for those below the bottom 10%). For some lawmakers, the nomination committee or the party leader is expected to directly urge them to withdraw from the race.