Intense Rivalry Among Gwangju Gwangsan-gap Democratic Party Preliminary Candidates

Lee Yong-bin "Withdraw Candidacy" vs Park Gyun-taek "Let's Undergo Party-Level Ethics Inspection"

The competition between the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) preliminary candidates in Gwangsan-gu (Gap), Gwangju Metropolitan City, who have early established a 1:1 primary race, is intense. One side is urging the opposing candidate to voluntarily withdraw, while the other demands party-level ethical inspection.

On the afternoon of the 14th, preliminary candidate Lee Yong-bin held a press conference at the Gwangju Metropolitan Council and called for the voluntary withdrawal of preliminary candidate Park Gyun-taek.

From the left in the photo: Lee Yong-bin, Park Gyun-taek, Democratic Party preliminary candidates for Gwangsan-gu (Gap), Gwangju Metropolitan City.

Lee stated, "A, an editor and reporter of an internet news agency, reported 210 articles promoting and defaming opponents while serving as the head of public relations at the law firm Gwangsan, where Park Gyun-taek is the chief attorney," and added, "The report claiming that a local committee office staff member received a salary as a fundraiser and then returned part of it is false."

He continued, "This report is clearly false, and we plan to file a complaint today."

He also pointed out, "For his election campaign, he disguised the news agency president as the head of public relations at the law firm and failed to fulfill the employee reporting obligation under the Attorney-at-Law Act," adding, "There are many Supreme Court precedents where using media for election campaigns in exchange for monetary compensation results in disqualification from office."

Furthermore, he said, "If the election law violations of preliminary candidate Park, a former high-ranking prosecutor and legal advisor to the party leader, continue to be ignored, it will be an act that dampens the Democratic Party's general election victory led by party leader Lee Jae-myung," urging, "Preliminary candidate Park Gyun-taek should immediately withdraw and not add to the Democratic Party's political burden caused by divisive and confrontational politics filled with his mistakes and political ambitions."

In response, preliminary candidate Park Gyun-taek rebutted through a press release on the same day and requested the Democratic Party to conduct an ethical inspection regarding all allegations raised by both sides.

Park said, "First, I urge preliminary candidate Lee Yong-bin to directly clarify the facts with the parties involved regarding his allegations," and added, "I now ask you to regain reason and maintain a dignified attitude and conduct as a member of the National Assembly."

He continued, "Attacking reporters and opposing candidates instead of clarifying the facts and cooperating with investigations is like spitting on one's own face," and claimed, "It was pointed out that not reporting reporter A as a corporate employee was wrong, but unpaid honorary positions are not subject to reporting."

He also emphasized, "There is an allegation that I provided a personal or corporate credit card to reporter A, but that is absolutely not true," and requested, "Please present the basis for such allegations."

Along with this, he said, "I will not file a defamation suit against candidate Lee because I cannot sacrifice a fellow party member to investigative agencies, and I hope the Democratic Party will conduct an ethical inspection regarding all allegations on both sides. I will submit all personal and corporate credit card usage details to the party for review."

He concluded, "Now, please stop hostile actions toward each other and participate in a clean election together. After the primary, let us move forward together for the elected candidate and the Democratic Party's victory," adding, "I believe that is the minimum courtesy for the people who desire regime judgment and regime change."

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