Kim Sang-hoon: "If Kim Seon-dong Clearly Intends to Run, He Should Resign from the Preparatory Committee"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Kim Sang-hoon, a member of the People Power Party and chairman of the by-election primary preparation committee, stated regarding the conflict of interest issue raised about Kim Seon-dong, the secretary-general and one of the preparation committee members, "If the intention to run is clear, he should resign from the preparation committee."

On the 14th, Kim appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and said, "Since this is a committee that sets the primary rules, it is not desirable for someone who will be a candidate to be part of the refereeing team."

He cited the case of Ji Sang-wook, director of the Yeouido Institute, who voluntarily resigned the day before, saying, "If there are still people in the primary preparation committee who intend to run, I expect those people will also step down."

Within the party, there are also criticisms that Kim Seon-dong, who is preparing to run for Seoul mayor, should resign from the preparation committee. Regarding this, Kim said, "I understand that the secretary-general is an ex officio member currently serving," and added, "If his intention to run is clear, he must resign from the primary preparation committee."

He added, "Since the first meeting on the 13th was just an introductory meeting, there was no opportunity to discuss this, but many media outlets have pointed this out, and I know the character of Secretary-General Kim well. I don't think he would let personal interests cloud his judgment or behave improperly."

Kim explained, "Since we have not yet confirmed his true intentions, we need to have a separate discussion," and added, "If he intends to run as a candidate in next year's by-election, I expect him to make a judgment to step down not only from the primary preparation committee but also from any positions that could cause misunderstandings." This means he should resign from both the preparation committee and the secretary-general position.

Regarding whether the rules are being prepared considering that Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People Party, might participate in the primary, Kim said, "We are not considering that at the moment," but left room for possibility by saying, "We expect Leader Ahn to play a role in uniting efforts to change the regime, and we are always open and ready to communicate with his side."

He also stated that they will review measures to verify candidates regardless of whether they are incumbents or non-incumbents, and consider allowing outsiders to participate in the primary. Kim emphasized, "Since the election is being held in Seoul, the capital of the Republic of Korea, and in Busan, the second-largest city, we do not discriminate between incumbents and non-incumbents," and "if there are shortcomings, we should gather the lacking wisdom through recruiting external figures and properly supplement policies."

Regarding the Democratic Party's nomination for the by-election, Kim criticized, "The by-election is for the area where the administration was abandoned due to an unfortunate sexual harassment scandal, and if the Democratic Party has any political decency, they should not mention candidate nominations at all."

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