"'Declaration of Candidacy for Supreme Council Member' Ko Young-in: Defeat Due to Party's Outdated Morality and Policy Incompetence... Will Reform"

'Deomincho' Operations Committee Chair
"If those responsible keep taking the front stage, evaluation becomes difficult"

Go Young-in, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the party affairs committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 13th. On this day, the party affairs committee was convened for an official interpretation regarding objections raised by the camp of former representative Lee Nak-yeon about the vote calculation method for candidates who withdrew midway in the presidential primary election. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Go Young-in, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) representing Gyeonggi Ansan Danwon-gu Gap and the chairperson of the Deomincho (a group of first-term lawmakers), declared his candidacy for the Supreme Council member position in the August 28 party convention.

On the same day, Go held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, stating, “The party’s moral decay, incompetent policies, lack of ethical responsibility, leadership failures, and unkept promises that have failed to keep up with the times have resulted in three election defeats.” He added, “We must bring back those who once loved the Democratic Party.” He said, “We can uphold our party’s identity and principles, protect our core supporters, and still demonstrate the capability to bring them back. I, Go Young-in, will stand at the forefront of this effort.”

He also criticized, “During the recent local elections, many reasonable criticisms were raised regarding the core leadership’s wrong candidacies and poor nominations, but these were not reflected. As a result, many other winnable areas ended in failure,” calling it “a consequence of the collapse of ethical responsibility and intra-party democracy.”

He continued, “The problem is that, judging from the current intra-party situation, this is not just a past issue but a concern and anxiety that it may continue in the future. If those responsible do not take accountability and continue to take the forefront, proper evaluation becomes difficult. This leads to a loss of genuine reflection and ultimately makes reform difficult,” he emphasized.

After declaring his candidacy, Go told reporters that Lee Jae-myung’s run for party leader was “not desirable if he holds a certain sense of responsibility for the negative impact his candidacy in Incheon Gyeyang-eul during the local elections had on the party.”

Go Young-in, who entered politics as an aide to former lawmaker Cheon Jeong-bae, served twice as a member of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly. After losing the 2016 general election in Gyeonggi Ansan Danwon-gu Gap, he successfully re-contested and entered the National Assembly in the 2020 general election. Since the party’s crushing defeat in the April 7 by-elections last year, he has served as the chairperson of Deomincho, the group of first-term lawmakers within the party.

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