'Defeated in Primary' Former Preliminary Candidate Choi Chi-hyun Expresses Gratitude to Supporters

SNS: "Accepting the retrial decision but disappointed by the trick primary"

"Democratic Party is the party to embody Gwangju Spirit... Original intention remains unchanged"

Choi Chi-hyun, a former preliminary candidate who faced defeat in the Democratic Party of Korea's primary election for the Gwangsan District (Eul), Gwangju Metropolitan City, accepted the party's decision and expressed gratitude to his supporters.

Choi posted on his SNS a message titled "Position on the Democratic Party Primary Results and Gratitude to Supporters," expressing regret over the undemocratic nature of this primary.

Choi, who has lived with pride as a person from Gwangju, recalled, "I served as the president of my university's student council, was detained under the National Security Act, and lived with the Gwangju spirit and Kim Dae-jung spirit nurtured by the generous community of Gwangju during the May 18 Democratic Uprising."

He continued, "The Gwangju spirit is gradually disappearing, and I have seen politicians neglecting Gwangju, caught up only in infighting and self-politics, as well as the Democratic Party, which regards Gwangju as its stronghold and takes it lightly only during elections. I wanted to re-engrave the Gwangju spirit into politics, but the wall of reality was much higher than I had imagined," expressing bitterness.

He also emphasized, "The reason the people want to judge the Yoon Seok-yeol prosecution dictatorship regime through the general election is because of the regime's undemocratic and unfair nature. However, the Democratic Party's primary process, which should lead this judgment, lacked both the party's values and the Gwangju spirit, and the procedures were neither democratic nor fair."

He stated, "The reason I requested a re-examination was not out of personal greed but to review the absurd process and ask the Democratic Party to show its true character. I humbly accept that another preliminary candidate, not myself, advanced to the primary."

Furthermore, he said, "Nevertheless, the aftereffects left by this unfair primary will last a long time, and Min Hyung-bae, the incumbent member of the National Assembly for Gwangsan District (Eul), who caused the trickery in the primary, will ultimately feel uncomfortable as his true nature becomes known to the public."

He added, "I will analyze the fundamental problems of this primary again and boldly run once more from the very beginning. Feeling the hardships of President Kim Dae-jung as the hardships of all Gwangju citizens, I will firmly uphold my original intention that only the Democratic Party can carry on and embody the Gwangju spirit, serving as the gatekeeper to protect and strengthen the Gwangju spirit."

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