Gominjeong Resigns as Supreme Council Member: "Unfair Nomination Distrust Must End"

"Called to Calm Conflict, Received 'Step Down' Response"
Resignation of Supreme Council Member Two Hours After 'Excluding Im Jong-seok'

Ko Min-jung, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, abruptly resigned from her position, stating that "the distrust in candidate nominations must end." This announcement came just two hours after former Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, who had been considered a key figure in the 'nomination turmoil,' was excluded from the Seoul Jung-gu Seongdong-gu Gap district.

On the afternoon of the 27th, Ko Min-jung held an emergency press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, saying, "I believed that the leadership should take responsibility and engage in intense discussions to dispel distrust and calm the current conflict situation. However, the response I received was 'You should rather step down from the Supreme Council,'" she revealed.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Gomin Jeong is holding a press conference to resign from the position of Supreme Council member at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 27th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

She added, "Since this response came as a public statement from a senior Democratic Party lawmaker, I could not take it lightly," and declared, "I will resign from my position as a Supreme Council member effective today." She also pointedly remarked, "If the distrust that the nominations are unfair is not ended, it will be difficult to form a united front and lead the party to victory in the general election."

Ko had previously criticized the leadership's handling of the recent 'unfair nomination' controversy within the party and had abstained from attending the Supreme Council meeting the day before. The Democratic Party is currently facing strong internal backlash over the 'unfair nominations.' It has been increasingly confirmed that a large number of members from the Byeongmyeong faction were included among the bottom 20% of incumbent evaluations, and single-candidate nominations were given mainly to pro-Myeong faction members regardless of whether they were inside or outside the National Assembly.

In this situation, the party's Strategic Nomination Management Committee decided on the morning of the same day to exclude former Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok and strategically nominate former Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee to the Seoul Jung-gu Seongdong-gu Gap district. Although some lawmakers, including Kim Han-jung, Park Yong-jin, and Yoon Young-chan, who were notified of their low evaluations, intend to participate in the primaries, there is also speculation that those who do not even get the chance to compete in the primaries may engage in collective actions such as a series of defections.