Park Hyungjun Calls Cutoff 'Reckless Move'... Joo Jinwoo Requests Primary

Kim Younghwan: "I Cannot Accept This... I Will Set Things Right"

Tensions are mounting within the People Power Party over the nomination process for metropolitan mayoral candidates for the upcoming June 3 local elections. Reports have emerged that, following Kim Younghwan, Governor of North Chungcheong Province, Park Hyungjun, Mayor of Busan, has also been included among the candidates excluded from nomination (cutoff).

On the afternoon of March 16, Mayor Park Hyungjun expressed his position on his social media account, stating, "Cutting off incumbent mayors and making single-candidate nominations without any clear criteria is neither a winning nomination nor an innovative one. Any attempt to arbitrarily distort the will of Busan citizens must be stopped immediately."

Previously, Lee Junghyun, the chairman of the party's nomination committee, who has been advocating for a generational shift, had resigned but later returned to continue pushing for the replacement of incumbent mayors. That morning, for the first time among sitting metropolitan mayors, Governor Kim Younghwan was cut off from nomination. It is reported that during the subsequent nomination committee meeting, some members insisted on cutting off Mayor Park and nominating a single candidate, leading to internal conflict. Currently, in the People Power Party's primary for the Busan mayoral candidacy, both Mayor Park and Assemblyman Joo Jinwoo are competing.

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Regarding this, Mayor Park emphasized, "Nominations must be about winning," and added, "This cutoff is nothing more or less than Chairman Lee Junghyun's act of ruining the party in the name of innovation, akin to a reckless and indiscriminate purge."

He continued, "This means abandoning Busan, which holds decisive importance in this election, and handing victory over to the Democratic Party and its candidate. Nominations must be conducted fairly. Together with Busan citizens, I will closely watch the nomination committee's decisions."

Joo Jinwoo, the opposing candidate, also sought to de-escalate the situation through his own social media post on the same day. He stated, "I respectfully request a primary to Chairman Lee and the nomination committee members," adding, "To overcome Busan's economic crisis, I will compete confidently with Mayor Park, presenting a new vision. That is the way for Busan and our party to achieve victory."

Busan-based lawmakers from the People Power Party also voiced their opposition. They said, "The current Busan election cannot be won through the personal skills of any single candidate," stressing, "Only through a healthy competition between Mayor Park and Assemblyman Joo can we enhance the competitiveness of our final nominee in the general election."

They further added, "A primary is absolutely necessary in the process of selecting the Busan mayoral candidate for bold and fundamental change. We urge reconsideration of any decision that would weaken the competitiveness of the People Power Party's Busan mayoral candidate by effectively breaking one wing before the final contest."

Meanwhile, Governor Kim Younghwan is also expressing strong opposition. He said, "I can never accept the decision of the nomination committee. It is outrageous to conduct interviews after pre-selecting a specific individual," and vowed, "I will do my best to correct this wrong decision and secure victory."

For the People Power Party's North Chungcheong Province governor nomination, Governor Kim, former Mayor Cho Gilhyeong of Chungju, former National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Heekeun, and former North Chungcheong Party Chairman Yoon Gapgeun have all announced their candidacies. The nomination committee plans to conduct an additional candidate search for the North Chungcheong Province post. Within political circles, there is speculation that the additional search may be targeting former Assemblywoman Kim Sumin, who is from Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province.

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