Regarding claims that a Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) Changwon City Council member was assaulted by a People Power Party campaign worker during the 21st presidential election campaign, the DPK Changwon City Council members have demanded an apology from the People Power Party.
On the 23rd, the DPK council members held a press conference at the city hall press center and urged, "The People Power Party must take responsibility and apologize."
According to the council members, at around 8:40 a.m. the previous day, council member Jung Sunwook, who was participating in morning campaign activities for commuters at the intersection in front of a large supermarket near Anmin Tunnel in Jinhae-gu, Changwon, was struck four times in the arm by a male People Power Party campaign worker.
As a result, Council Member Jung received a medical diagnosis of two weeks of injury and reported the campaign worker to the Jinhae Police Station.
The Democratic Party of Korea's Changwon City Council members in Gyeongnam are urging an apology regarding claims that a council member was assaulted by a People Power Party campaign worker during the election campaign. Photo by Lee Seryung
The council members stated, "Violence against a sitting city council member at a campaign site is not a spontaneous incident," and pointed out, "This is organized violence intended to intimidate the opposing party and disrupt legitimate campaign activities."
They added, "While it is true that Council Member Jung was agitated by being called a spy, it is unacceptable to slander someone as a spy or to strike a council member with an elbow."
They explained, "The Anmin Tunnel intersection is a busy area with many volunteers, which led to heightened tensions during the campaign. In every election, not just this one, there is competition to secure prime campaign locations. However, we educate campaign workers to maintain a reasonable distance, coordinate with each other, and avoid conflicts."
The council members called on Kim Moonsoo, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, to publicly apologize to the citizens of Changwon and to pledge measures to prevent recurrence. They also demanded apologies from the Gyeongnam provincial party of the People Power Party and from Lee Jonghyup, the party's local chapter head.
Additionally, they requested that the election commission establish measures to prevent violence, and called on the police investigators to conduct a thorough investigation and impose strict punishment.
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