Joining the 70th Gwangju Candlelight March After the Meeting
Jokook "Will Emerge as a Nationwide Mass Political Party"
On the 14th, the Justice Innovation Party announced that it held a tour meeting with candidates for party leader and supreme council members in Gwangju on the afternoon of the 13th.
Previously, the Innovation Party, which accepted candidate registrations over two days from the 3rd to the 4th, finalized one candidate for party leader and three candidates for supreme council members.
For party leader, candidate Jo Guk ran unopposed. The supreme council member candidates were number 1 Kim Seon-min (Member of the National Assembly), number 2 Hwang Myeong-pil (Chairman of the Ulsan City Party), and number 3 Jeong Do-sang (Chairman of the Jeonbuk Provincial Party).
Candidate Jo Guk for party leader appealed for support, saying, “During the first critical moment when my family was plunged into the torment of hell, and the second critical moment at the founding when I took my first step as a mass politician amid countless jeers, the citizens of Gwangju supported me and the Justice Innovation Party more than anyone else. Now, standing at the third critical moment, if entrusted with the leadership, I will devote all my strength to transforming the party into a nationwide mass party that achieves results in the upcoming local elections.”
Candidate number 1 Kim Seon-min said, “Coming to Gwangju, the sacred place of democratization, and seeing the faces of party members fills my heart with warmth,” and expressed his ambition to “build a socially advanced country where there is no worry about money or connections, where the elderly can live proudly on pensions, and where there is no concern about caregiving expenses for sick parents.”
Candidate number 2 Hwang Myeong-pil emphasized his 20 years of challenges in Yeongnam, a difficult area for the democratic progressive camp. He said, “With the same heart as when I challenged Yeongnam back then, I want to undertake my final political journey with candidate Jo Guk,” and stressed, “Please use me as a tool for the Justice Innovation Party to target Yeongnam.”
Candidate number 3 Jeong Do-sang for supreme council member stated, “Gwangju is the city that made me a writer in 1987,” and added, “Although President Kim Dae-jung achieved it after a life-risking hunger strike, the current local autonomy system monopolized by the two major parties in Yeongnam and Honam has problems. We will definitely win the upcoming by-elections in October.”
After the meeting, attendees joined the ‘Resign Yoon Seok-yeol! Special Investigation on Kim Geon-hee! 70th Gwangju Candlelight March’ held in Chungjang-ro.
Candidate Jo Guk and party members stood at the forefront of the candlelight march, condemning the Yoon Seok-yeol administration for repeatedly exercising veto power against bills mandated by the people.
Meanwhile, the Justice Innovation Party, which held meetings in Daegu on July 7, Busan on July 12, and Jeongeup on July 13, will conclude its nationwide tour meetings in Daejeon on July 14.
Afterwards, on July 20 at 2 p.m., the party plans to hold its 1st National Party Members’ Convention at the Suwon Convention Center to democratically elect the party leader and supreme council members, thereby securing the legitimacy of the leadership.
The Justice Innovation Party plans to establish a stable party organizational system and then form a Special Committee for Organizational Strengthening in August to prepare for the October by-elections, aiming to develop into a full-fledged “grassroots party.”
Seo Wang-jin, acting chairman of the Gwangju City Party, said, “I am pleased that through this meeting we could directly introduce the candidates’ visions and policies to the voters,” and added, “We will continue to establish various communication channels to listen to and reflect the opinions of party members and the public.”
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