Candidate Kim Seonghwan Leaves Minsaeng Party... Declares Independent Candidacy

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Yoon Jamin] On the 24th, Kim Seonghwan, former Dong-gu mayor, who was selected as the Minsaeng Party candidate for the National Assembly election in Gwangju Metropolitan City's Dong-Nam (Gap) district, declared his independent candidacy after having his nomination taken away by preliminary candidate Park Juseon just one day later.

On the 25th, Kim held a press conference at the Gwangju Metropolitan Council and stated, "The Minsaeng Party, which is neither fair nor just, does not deserve the choice of the citizens of Gwangju."

Kim said, "The Minsaeng Party's nomination management committee, after lengthy discussions, conducted a secret ballot based on the consent of both myself and candidate Park Juseon. As a result, I was chosen as the nominee by a 7:2 vote, but just one day later, without any reason, the nomination was overturned as if flipping a hand."

He continued, "The decision to nominate all incumbent district members betrayed the expectations of voters who long for generational change and showed the ultimate defense of vested interests without any internal competition. The same nomination committee members who made the initial decision held a re-vote, which was reversed by 6:2:1, and I am utterly shocked by this."

He also said, "Despite receiving about twice the support compared to candidate Park in five media polls so far, ignoring this is an insult to the citizens of Gwangju who participated in the surveys. It seems the pressure that the parliamentary negotiation group might collapse if candidate Park leaves the party influenced this outcome."

He added, "I cannot accept the unjust decisions of the Minsaeng Party, so I have decided to leave the party and run as an independent. I ask the citizens of Gwangju to correct this through the election directly."

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