Legal and Political Action Announced After Loss of Presidential Candidacy
Kim: "The Party That Should Be Stopping Lee Jaemyung Has Become a Monster"
On May 10, Kim Moonsoo, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, stated that he would respond both legally and politically after the party leadership stripped him of his candidacy and nominated former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo as the new presidential candidate, calling it "a political coup that took place in the dead of night."
That morning, Kim held an emergency press conference at his campaign office in Yeouido, Seoul, and claimed, "Last night, the emergency committee of the People Power Party illegally stripped me, Kim Moonsoo, who was legitimately elected as the presidential candidate by the choice of the people and party members, of my candidacy."
Previously, Kim's camp and Han's camp held negotiations at the National Assembly the previous day to unify their candidacies, but they clashed sharply over the inclusion of a clause to prevent reverse selection in public opinion polls. When the negotiations broke down, the People Power Party convened both its emergency committee and election management committee, revoked Kim's status as the presidential candidate, and nominated Han as the new candidate.
Regarding this, Kim said, "Last night, democracy within our party died," and bowed his head, saying, "I apologize to the party members and citizens who chose me as the candidate despite my shortcomings."
Addressing the party leadership, he said, "An anti-democratic event has occurred that is unprecedented not only in the constitutional history of the Republic of Korea, but also in world history," adding, "Our party, which should be fighting against the monster named Lee Jaemyung, turned into a monster itself last night."
He continued, "According to our party's constitution, the presidential candidate must be elected at a national convention or by the National Committee, which is entrusted with that authority. However, before the National Committee was even convened, the emergency committee, which has no such authority, decided to replace the candidate. This is a clear violation of the party constitution," he asserted.
Kim also reiterated his claim that the party leadership had predetermined Han as the candidate since the primary. He said, "The party leadership has consistently sought to select Han Ducksoo as the candidate and oust me even before I was elected," and pointed out, "In the end, around 1 a.m. today, my legitimate candidacy was revoked. From 3 a.m., they forced on-site registration by making me prepare 32 documents in just one hour."
Kim explained that he would resist what he called the illegal and unjust measures taken by the party leadership. He emphasized, "I will immediately take legal and political action against this illegal and unjust replacement of the candidate," and added, "Those responsible for this situation will be held legally and politically accountable without fail."
He further declared, "I will continue to fight to protect liberal democracy in the Republic of Korea," stressing, "I will defend the tower of liberal democracy that we have protected with our blood and sweat at all costs."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
