Democratic Party Nomination Exclusion: Seo Daeseok, Gwangju Seo-gu Mayor, to Run as Independent

"Democratic Party lacked fair primary management, and democracy was abandoned at the Democratic stronghold"

Seo Dae-seok, the mayor of Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, who was excluded from the Democratic Party of Korea's nomination for the Seo-gu mayoral election, held a press conference at the Gwangju Metropolitan City Council on the 2nd and announced his intention to run as an independent candidate.

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Seo Daeseok, the mayor of Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, who was excluded from the Democratic Party's nomination for Seo-gu mayor, has decided to run as an independent candidate.

On the afternoon of the 2nd, Seo held a press conference at the Gwangju Metropolitan Council and stated, "I am leaving the Democratic Party, to which I have devoted my whole life, and running as an independent candidate for Seo-gu mayor to fight against those who are ruining the party."

He said, "This Democratic Party nomination was a disgusting feast of trickery, betrayal, and favoritism," adding, "Opportunities were not equal, the process was not fair, and the results were not just."

He continued, "Song Gap-seok, chairman of the Gwangju City Party, who should have managed a fair primary, made this nomination the worst," and claimed, "Democracy was abandoned in Gwangju, the sacred place of democracy, and lifelong devoted people like me, including city councilors and district councilors, were made scapegoats."

He also said, "A history of drunk driving is clearly a wrongdoing," but emphasized, "However, to deprive me of even the chance to run in the primary because of a violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act, which can be explained, and an incident that happened over 20 years ago, is an excessive measure."

He added, "After actually facing administration, I realized that the mayor must personally know even the smallest details to smoothly manage district affairs," and explained, "The mayor is not a high-ranking official but sometimes must think from the perspective of a section chief or even a level 9 public servant."

He further stated, "District administration is about carrying out practical administration closely connected to residents' daily lives at the closest place to them," and appealed, "I earnestly ask you to entrust the next four years to me, Seo Daeseok, who works well, knows better than anyone, and has already been verified."

Meanwhile, Seo submitted his resignation from the Democratic Party on the morning of the same day and plans to register as a preliminary candidate immediately after the press conference.

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