300 Young Party Members Resign from Democratic Party Stronghold Gwangju... Declare Support for Saeroun Mirae

"Democratic Party Transforms into a Pro-Myeong Hegemonic Party" Strongly Criticized

In Gwangju, a stronghold of the Democratic Party of Korea, young party members have strongly criticized the party, saying "the Democratic Party has turned into a personal party," and have collectively resigned. As the general election approaches, this is not only a very rare case of mass resignation from the Democratic Party in the Gwangju area but also draws attention because it involves young people.

On the 25th, 300 Democratic Party members including university students, youth, and members from Gwangsan in Gwangju held an emergency press conference at the Gwangju Metropolitan Council, stating, "The Democratic Party is not listening to the voices of the region and is solely focused on the personal success of some figures within the party and protecting Representative Lee Jae-myung from judicial issues."

They said, "As the metropolitan area absorbs all of South Korea's youth population, we believed that the Democratic Party would solve the situation where close friends and seniors and juniors have to leave Gwangju through politics. However, the current Democratic Party has lost its problem-solving ability and exists only for Lee Jae-myung alone, and if it is for Lee Jae-myung, it is just a 'pro-Lee hegemony' party that neglects the people's livelihood."

They continued, "A party for individual politicians does not give young party members a proper opportunity to work. It only demands absolute loyalty and factional politics, and in the name of the party's general election victory, it was only busy making young party members do the dirty work. After the election, these young members are often abandoned as if nothing happened," they criticized.

They also said, "A party for individual politicians does not love the region. During election seasons, it excludes competent workers who know and can handle local issues well," adding, "Instead, it favors sycophants who curry favor with those in power. This is about Representative Min Hyung-bae."

Furthermore, "In this Democratic Party primary, all incumbent lawmakers from Gwangju except one were eliminated, and all of them are classified as 'non-pro-Lee' lawmakers," they said, emphasizing, "The only one who survived the primary was Representative Min Hyung-bae. Not because he devoted himself to Gwangju, but because he devoted himself to power."

They criticized, "Representative Min, who claimed to protect the spirit of democracy and freedom, remained silent or even agreed with the party's lack of communication and dogmatism. Moreover, to please those in power, he did not hesitate to use tricks like disguised resignation that nullify the National Assembly Act, and he even hurled unspeakable insults at netizens who shared columns pointing out Lee Jae-myung's judicial risks."

They added, "During his four years of legislative activity, Representative Min Hyung-bae failed to create a future for Gwangju and was helpless against the outflow of young people," and said, "We can no longer be with such politicians who were indifferent to creating proper jobs so that young people can stay."

They also declared their support for Saeroun Mirae (New Future).

The youth said, "Saeroun Mirae's Representative Lee Nak-yeon is a politician who can be trusted and entrusted with Gwangju. Having served as Governor of Jeollanam-do, he received top positive evaluations in job performance assessments," emphasizing, "In particular, he showed great achievements in job creation and received the Comprehensive Job Award from the Ministry of Employment and Labor. We expect Representative Lee Nak-yeon's common sense, dignity, warm leadership, and long experience to fill the lack of vision and the ability to realize dreams that Gwangju politics most needs."

They added, "We hope that Committee Chair Yang So-young will raise the voice representing the virtually disappeared 2030 generation in this general election," and requested, "Please help bring young talents back to their hometown Gwangju. Please contribute to making Gwangju vibrant once again."

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