Justice Party "Declaration to Run for Gangseo District Mayor By-election... Kim Tae-woo Is Not Qualified"

Former Seoul Gangseo District Mayor Kim Tae-woo, who was recently pardoned after being convicted of leaking secrets learned in the course of official duties to the media, has expressed his intention to run in the upcoming Gangseo District mayoral by-election scheduled for October. In response, the Justice Party criticized him as "unqualified" and announced that it will field a candidate in the by-election.

On the 16th, the Justice Party held a press conference at the National Assembly and stated, "With a heavy sense of responsibility and earnest determination, the Justice Party declares its candidacy for the Gangseo District mayoral by-election on October 11."

Kim, the former district mayor, was prosecuted for leaking secrets learned in the course of official duties after exposing allegations related to the Blue House Civil Affairs Office's special inspection team in 2018. In May of this year, the Supreme Court confirmed a sentence of one year in prison with a two-year probation, resulting in the loss of his mayoral position. However, he was included in the recent Liberation Day special pardon, allowing him to run in the Gangseo District mayoral by-election, and he has expressed his intention to run.

However, the Justice Party stated, "Kim is not qualified to run. It is absolutely unacceptable for someone who has been judged by the judiciary for various misconducts and sentenced to prison to shamelessly seek to become a representative of the residents just three months after the sentence." They added, "This is a clear warning to the People Power Party. They must not even consider such arrogant and dangerously reckless behavior that insults the residents."

The Justice Party will field former Seoul City Council member Kwon Soo-jung as its candidate for Gangseo District mayor. The party said, "Please watch over candidate Kwon, who has had ties with Gangseo for over 20 years and has shared the lives of Gangseo residents." They added, "As a working woman who has been at the forefront of defending workers' rights and someone who understands the hardships of ordinary citizens better than anyone else, we proudly present our candidate Kwon Soo-jung as the representative player to the residents."

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