Controversy over 'Mapo-eul Strategic Nomination' Kim Kyung-yul Says "Made a Mistake as a Political Novice"

Kim Kyung-yul "My mistake for giving wrong information is significant"
Kim Sung-dong "Shocked and devastated... No apology contact either"

Amid ongoing noise within the People Power Party over the nomination for Seoul Mapo-eul, Kim Kyung-yul, an emergency committee member of the People Power Party, said, "Both Chairman Han Dong-hoon and I are political novices," adding, "80% of this mistake lies with me for providing incorrect information, and 20% with Chairman Han for failing to verify it."

On the 19th, Kim appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said regarding his candidacy for Mapo-eul, "While talking with Chairman Han and searching, I found that the Mapo-eul party committee chairman was not registered as a preliminary candidate," adding, "Both Chairman Han and I are political novices, so we didn't know how this process works." He continued, "Since former lawmaker Kim Seong-dong, the Mapo-eul party committee chairman, was not registered as a preliminary candidate, I assumed he had no intention to run and mistakenly gave the wrong information saying, 'Then you can proceed as you wish here.' There is no strategic nomination. I sincerely apologize and want to bow in apology to former lawmaker Kim."

Handonghun, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is clenching his fist while hugging Emergency Response Committee member Kim Kyung-yul at the Seoul City Party New Year's Meeting held at Catertle in Mapo-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 17th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding his decision to run for Mapo-eul, he said, "Since everyone was avoiding it for various reasons, I said if no one else does, I will go." Kim said, "Mapo-eul is a symbolic constituency of the Democratic Party's Jeong Cheong-rae, so someone should definitely run, but everyone said no," adding, "I even recommended it to lawmakers I thought suitable in my mind, but they said, 'It's obvious it will be a fierce battle, and I don't want to waste my image like that.'"

He also said he wants to be evaluated by the people of Mapo-gu in the April 10 general election. Kim said, "Even before the Cho Kuk incident, I thought, 'How can that person claim to be part of the 86 generation (those born in the 60s who entered university in the 80s) and live under the banner of progressivism? It's really embarrassing,'" adding, "Even 5 or 10 years ago, I often thought I wanted to beat that person once." He added, "Both Jeong and I have lived with fairness and justice as our motto," and "I want to ask the people of Mapo-gu which of us has lived a life that aligns with fairness and justice at least once."

Within the People Power Party, noise continues over the Mapo-eul nomination. On the 17th, at the Seoul City Party's New Year's gathering, Chairman Han introduced Kim Kyung-yul as Jeong's opponent, which sparked internal opposition. This announcement came just one day after declaring a system nomination, and former lawmaker Kim Seong-dong, the Mapo-eul party committee chairman, expressed his feelings, saying, "It was shocking and devastating." Besides Kim, Jeong Hae-won and Jo Yong-sul are also running as preliminary candidates in Mapo-eul.

On the same day, former lawmaker Kim said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "If there is a purpose to the meeting, wouldn't you expect it?" adding, "Since the nomination criteria were announced the day before, I thought they would follow the system, and even if there were complaints about the results, they would unite to win." He continued, "But they named a specific person, called him to the stage, and performed a handshake," adding, "No one, including me, knew about this, and everyone had a bewildered expression thinking, 'What is this?'" He also claimed that after the controversy, neither Chairman Han nor Kim Kyung-yul contacted him to explain the situation or apologize.

He also criticized Kim Kyung-yul's mention of running for Mapo-eul as a deviation from the system nomination. He said, "Chairman Han said, 'We need to see the process once,' but the media reported it as 'confirmed' and 'the opponent is so-and-so,'" adding, "They announced the rules the day before, but the next day they almost confirmed the Mapo-eul candidacy. If people say they misunderstood, it doesn't make sense." Furthermore, he questioned, "Mapo-eul is called a difficult or deadly district within the People Power Party," and asked, "Can you disregard the efforts of those who have sweated and shed tears working hard in such a difficult place?"

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