The Democratic Party Stronghold Honam Likely to See Disappearance of 'Specific Candidate Support'

Democratic Party Central Committee Issues Guidelines to Uphold Neutrality in Primaries, Including Public Endorsement of Preliminary Candidates

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Park Seon-gang] In the Honam region, a stronghold of the Democratic Party of Korea, it appears that the announcements of support for specific candidates by city, county, and district council members to showcase their influence at official events will disappear.

The Democratic Party of Korea's central party issued guidelines on the 3rd prohibiting elected officials from publicly endorsing candidates (including preliminary candidates) during the general election and requiring neutrality during primaries.

The newly released guidelines specify, according to Article 8 of the Party Ethics Regulations (Fair Performance of Duties), that party-affiliated officials and party staff must not engage in acts that promote party division such as lining up support. Public endorsements of specific candidates by elected officials are considered acts that undermine party unity, cause disputes over fairness in future primaries, lead to aftereffects of the primaries, and negatively impact the general election.

In fact, due to the Honam region's generally favorable stance toward the current government, there are concerns that some preliminary candidates are engaging in behind-the-scenes efforts to gain support from elected officials at a level that raises some worries.

There are also criticisms that council members, who represent citizens and voters, are pushing specific candidates with a high chance of winning rather than verifying candidates' policies and pledges.

For example, on the 13th of last month, 8 out of 10 members of the Hwasun County Council in Jeollanam-do held a press conference to declare their support for a preliminary candidate for the Naju-Hwasun constituency and pledged victory.

The eight council members included Chairman Kang Soon-pal, as well as councilors Yoon Young-min, Kim Seok-bong, Ha Seong-dong, Choi Ki-cheon, Jo Se-hyun, Ryu Young-gil, and Lim Young-nim.

Earlier, on December 24th of last year, 32 current and former members of the Gwangju City Council held a press conference to publicly announce their support for a preliminary candidate running in the Gwangju Buk-gu Gap district in next year’s general election.

The declaration of support included a large participation of 17 former councilors from the 6th to 7th terms and 15 current councilors from the 8th term (out of 22 members).

Conversely, there were preliminary candidates who opposed and criticized the lining up of support by local council members.

Kim Seung-nam, a Democratic Party preliminary candidate who declared his candidacy for the 21st general election in Goheung, Boseong, Jangheung, and Gangjin in Jeollanam-do, stated in a press release on the 4th, “During this general election competition, I have decided not to make support declarations that line up local council members and cause party division.” He added, “Recently, five Boseong County council members, former and current Gangjin County Council chairpersons, and a former county governor declared support for a specific preliminary candidate, which seems to be old-fashioned politics and likely to provoke conflicts between small regions, which is regrettable.”

He emphasized, “For Democratic Party preliminary candidates to win against opposition parties in the general election, they must focus on developing good pledges for local residents and policies for regional development that can earn the trust and support of county residents.”

A citizen said, “Council members should play a role in enabling citizens to fairly evaluate candidates, but by endorsing specific candidates ahead of time, aren’t they just trying to secure their own future?” and added, “They need to maintain balance at least as much as current council members do. I applaud the decision of the Democratic Party central party.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.