Democratic Party Virtually Cuts Off Ki Dong-min, Hong Young-pyo, and Ahn Min-seok... Gwak Sang-eon Nominated for Jongno (Comprehensive)

Im Hyuk-baek "Ki Dong-min Admits to Bribery, Lee Su-jin Does Not Admit, Difference"

The Democratic Party of Korea has designated the constituencies of Assemblyman Ki Dong-min in Seongbuk-gu Eul, Seoul; Assemblyman Hong Young-pyo in Bupyeong-gu Eul, Incheon; Assemblyman Ahn Min-seok in Osan-si, Gyeonggi-do; Assemblyman Lee Jang-seop in Cheongju-si Seowon-gu; and Assemblyman Byun Jae-il in Cheongju-si Cheongwon-gu as strategic districts. Although the Democratic Party stated that the decision by the incumbent lawmaker strategic nomination management committee remains pending and that this is not a 'cutoff' (exclusion from the primary), there has been an assessment that many incumbents have effectively been cut off. In the case of Assemblyman Lee Su-jin, who is on trial for the Lime bribery case, the nomination committee designated her as a primary candidate, but with Assemblyman Ki Dong-min effectively being cut off, issues of fairness have been raised.

On the 28th, Lim Hyuk-baek, chairman of the Democratic Party's nomination management committee, said in a briefing, "We have resolved to designate six districts?Seongbuk-gu Eul in Seoul, Bupyeong-gu Eul in Incheon, Osan-si in Gyeonggi-do, Yongin-si Gap in Gyeonggi-do, Seowon-gu in Cheongju-si, and Cheongwon-gu in Cheongju-si, Chungbuk?as strategic districts and transferred them to the strategic nomination committee." Additionally, Chairman Lim announced single-candidate nominations for Gwak Sang-eon, former party district chairman and son-in-law of former President Roh Moo-hyun, in Jongno-gu, Seoul; Cho Jae-hee, former chairman of Korea Polytechnic University, in Songpa-gu Gap; Assemblyman Yoon Ho-jung in Guri-si, Gyeonggi-do; Assemblyman Park Sang-hyuk in Gimpo-si Eul; and Kim Do-gyun, former Army Capital Defense Command commander, in Sokcho-si, Inje-gun, Goseong-gun, and Yangyang-gun, Gangwon-do.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In the Jung-gu Seongdong-gu Eul constituency in Seoul, Assemblyman Park Sung-jun and former Assemblyman Jung Ho-jun will compete in a primary; in the Chuncheon-si, Cheorwon-gun, Hwacheon-gun, Yangyang-gun constituency in Gangwon-do, former Korea Coal Corporation President Yoo Jeong-bae and former regional committee chairman Jeon Seong will compete; in Mokpo-si, Jeonnam, Assemblyman Kim Won-i and Bae Jong-ho, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's strategic planning committee, will compete; and in the combined districts of Goheung-gun, Boseong-gun, Jangheung-gun, and Gangjin-gun, Assemblyman Kim Seung-nam and former Jeonnam vice governor Moon Geum-ju will compete in primaries.

Regarding the six constituencies transferred to the strategic nomination committee, Chairman Lim said, "This was to enhance competitiveness in the general election," and added, "These areas do not correspond to what is commonly called a cutoff." He also described media expressions referring to the transfer to the strategic nomination committee as a 'de facto cutoff' as "excessive," explaining, "Even if transferred to the strategic nomination committee, strategic primaries can be held, and incumbent lawmakers in these areas can still have the opportunity to participate in primaries again." However, Chairman Lim stated that the transfer to the strategic nomination committee was "generally due to issues of morality and consideration of competitiveness in the general election." This implies that the nomination committee judged there were problems with the nominations.

The differing judgments between Assemblyman Ki Dong-min and Assemblyman Lee Su-jin, who is on trial related to the Lime scandal, also came under scrutiny. Assemblyman Ki Dong-min's constituency was transferred to the strategic nomination committee, effectively placing him at risk of cutoff, whereas Assemblyman Lee Su-jin is currently competing in a primary against Assemblyman Yoon Young-chan for the Seongnam-si Jungwon-gu parliamentary seat.

Regarding this, Chairman Lim explained, "For candidates who admit to bribery, the nomination committee refers them to the morality verification subcommittee for review, which then reports back to the nomination committee for a full session review. Assemblyman Ki admitted to bribery, whereas Assemblyman Lee Su-jin did not admit to bribery, so the review proceeded with her being judged as a qualified candidate," he said.