Democratic Party in Turmoil Over Gwangju Seo-gu Council Chairperson Election

Candidate Kim Tae-young Registers After Party Primary Dispute

City Party to Refer 'Relevant Actions' to Ethics Committee

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] The Gwangju Seo-gu Council, scheduled to hold its chairperson election on the 2nd, is in turmoil.

Although Democratic Party members selected a representative candidate through a vote in line with the party's stance, a member who disagreed unilaterally registered as a candidate, and the Gwangju City Party is considering referring this act to the Ethics Review Committee.

According to the Gwangju Seo-gu Council and local political circles on the 1st, Kim Taeyoung (Democratic Party) registered around 5 p.m., one hour before the deadline for Seo-gu chairperson candidate registration the previous day.

As a result, the Seo-gu chairperson election, initially expected to be a two-way contest between Oh Gwanggyo (Democratic Party) and Kim Oksu (Minsheng Party), will now be a three-way race.

The problem arose among Democratic Party members.

Democratic Party members of the Seo-gu Council agreed on a party stance that the candidate for the 8th term's second half chairperson should be a member from the Seo-gu Gap district who has been re-elected at least once and has not held positions such as vice-chairperson or standing committee chairperson in the first half.

The members meeting these conditions are Kang Intaek and Oh Gwanggyo.

After five Democratic Party Seo-gu Gap district council members voted, Oh Gwanggyo was selected as the chairperson candidate with a 3:2 margin over Kang Intaek, setting up a competition with Minsheng Party's Kim Oksu for the chairperson position.

However, the controversy arose when Kim Taeyoung registered as an additional candidate that day.

Although Kim Taeyoung's registration as a chairperson candidate was procedurally valid, it is generally customary that once a candidate is decided within the party, other members of the same party do not register.

This is because splitting votes among candidates from the same party could disadvantage them against candidates from other parties.

Therefore, local political circles express strong incomprehension regarding Kim Taeyoung's actions.

A political insider said, "If he is interested in the chairperson position, he should have asserted his views before the party stance was decided. Taking such action after the internal vote is hard to understand logically," and added, "The individual action of the member after the party stance has been set is problematic."

In response, Kim Taeyoung stated that change must start gradually from local councils.

Kim said, "Council members should be seen as representatives who closely engage with residents on the front lines, but even this is being decided by the party, which is not right," and claimed, "The council should be composed of people who truly want to work, but many members are intoxicated with vested interests and only think about their own benefits."

He continued, "Opening the way for new people who will genuinely work is also one of the roles of multi-term members," and said, "I have not ruled out disciplinary action from the party, but I intend to serve solely for the residents."

The Gwangju City Democratic Party's reaction upon learning this fact is serious.

They consider Kim Taeyoung's action as a 'relevant act' and are reportedly initiating disciplinary procedures by referring him to the Ethics Review Committee.

A Democratic Party Gwangju City Party official said, "Kim Taeyoung's behavior can be seen as a relevant act," and added, "Since he ignored the party's stance as an individual, there is a possibility of severe punishment, including expulsion."

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