Candidate Kim Seongjin Reports Central Party for Violating Neutrality in Local Elected Officials' Primary Election

Kim Seong-jin, the Democratic Party preliminary candidate for Gwangsan-gu (Eul), Gwangju Metropolitan City, reported violations of the primary neutrality compliance guidelines by local elected officials to the central party.

Lee Geun-bae, deputy head of the Fair Election Monitoring Team of Kim Seong-jin’s campaign, which collected these violation cases, stated, “According to Article 8 of the Democratic Party’s Code of Ethics (Fair Performance of Duties), it is clearly stated that ‘Party-affiliated public officials and party officers must not engage in acts that promote party division, such as ranking, encouraging or forcing participation in private organizations.’” He added, “I understand that the central party sent related guidelines to city and provincial party organizations nationwide earlier this month.”

He continued, “Despite the party’s code of ethics and the central party’s guidelines, elected officials in the Gwangsan-gu (Eul) area are violating these rules and conducting primary election campaigns for incumbent lawmakers through SNS and text messages.” He emphasized, “We have reported some elected officials who violate the principles of fairness and neutrality and conduct election campaigns to the central party’s primary election fraud reporting center and requested the Ethics Committee to conduct ethical inspections and fact-finding investigations.”

Preliminary candidate Kim Seong-jin appealed, “Election campaigning by elected officials for incumbent lawmakers is not only a violation of the party’s primary neutrality compliance guidelines but also an unfair act against political newcomers and other challengers.” He urged, “Please keep in mind that the election process is an important act demonstrating democracy, and we ask elected officials to participate in elections that resonate with the public.”