Minsaengdang's Inconsistent and Unprincipled Candidate Screening Process

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] On the 24th, the Minsheng Party's Nomination Management Committee recommended former Gwangju Dong-gu Mayor Kim Seong-hwan as the candidate for Gwangju Metropolitan City Dongnam-eul in the April 15 general election, and Representative Park Joo-sun filed for a rehearing, sparking discussions in the region.

This is because the Minsheng Party conducted the nomination screening without principles.

According to the local political circles on the 24th, the Minsheng Party, which had not even formed a nomination screening committee, formed the Nomination Management Committee the day before, reviewed the qualifications of local constituency and proportional representation candidates, and recommended former Mayor Kim as the Dongnam-eul candidate on the morning of the 24th, requesting approval from the Supreme Council. However, Representative Park immediately filed for a rehearing.

Earlier, regarding the nomination screening, the Minsheng Party obtained the consent of Representative Park Joo-sun and former Dong-gu Mayor Kim Seong-hwan, and in an internal secret vote, 7 out of 9 Nomination Management Committee members supported former Mayor Kim, resulting in Representative Park's exclusion from the nomination.

It is reported that there was a heated debate within the Nomination Management Committee over Representative Park's exclusion from the nomination.

There were sharply contrasting views: one argued that Representative Park played a role in the integration process and that if he left the party in protest against the cut-off, the parliamentary negotiation group could collapse; the other held that he was responsible for the division between Honam and the People's Party.

So far, various opinion polls have shown former Mayor Kim leading Representative Park by more than twice, but the dominant view in local political circles was that Representative Park would receive the nomination.

The problem lies not with the two candidates but with the central party's decision.

Although a secret vote was conducted with the consent of both candidates and there were no procedural issues in the nomination process, the Supreme Council's request for a rehearing to the Nomination Management Committee appears to reveal that the party itself could not set clear standards for nomination.

Furthermore, recently, in the case of the Democratic Party, preliminary candidates in the Gwangju area claimed illegalities during the primary process, leading to rehearings, whereas in the Minsheng Party, no such incidents occurred, yet the Supreme Council's decision has been widely seen as damaging the party's credibility.

Local residents say that such unprincipled nominations have caused confusion among voters and lowered trust, even suggesting the possibility of voting outside the party.

Hwang (41) said, “I was disappointed by the ugly scenes of negative campaigning in the recent Democratic Party nominations and had hopes for the Minsheng Party, but they showed the same behavior, which is regrettable. With the election so close, is this kind of power struggle acceptable? Now is the time for the central party's proper conduct to capture the hearts of Gwangju residents.”

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