Shin Jeonghun Urges Min Hyungbae to Stop Spreading Fake News and Apologize to Citizens and Residents

Preselection Results: Vote Percentages Prohibited from Disclosure
Card News Criticized for Subtle Distortion
"Denouncing Election Terror in Public, Manipulating Public Opinion Behind the Scenes"
Calls for Thorough Investigation and Strict Action by the Democratic Party’s Central Election Commission

Shin Jeonghoon, candidate for the Democratic Party primary for the special mayor of Jeonnam Gwangju. Provided by Shin Jeonghoon campaign team.

Shin Jeonghun, preselection candidate for the Democratic Party of Korea in the Jeonnam Gwangju Special Mayor race, recently labeled the card news distributed by Assemblyman Min Hyungbae's camp as "fake news created through malicious editing." Shin called for the truth to be revealed and demanded an immediate public apology to the citizens and residents of the region.

Candidate Min Hyungbae had previously referred to so-called "tabloid texts" related to the recent preselection results as an "election terror that steals party members' right to choose," and called for a thorough investigation by the central party, even demanding the disqualification of candidates.

However, according to Shin Jeonghun, Min’s own camp distributed card news that could give a distorted impression, misleading the public to believe that Min had overwhelmingly won the preselection.

This card news displayed a bar graph showing "33.4%" alongside a photo of Min, with the caption reading, "Overwhelming support, thank you for passing the preselection."

This is a clear case of "malicious editing," as it is intended to mislead voters into believing that Min secured first place with a high percentage of votes, even though the Democratic Party’s rules prohibit the announcement of primary voting percentages.

Moreover, this figure comes from a public opinion poll conducted at the end of January by Gwangju Ilbo, and represents only the support rate in Gwangju—not the entire Jeonnam Gwangju region.

According to the same poll, the combined support rate for Jeonnam and Gwangju was 22.7%, which was within the margin of error compared to the second-place candidate.

Min’s camp, seemingly aware of the controversy, included a very small caption at the bottom of the card news stating, "Gwangju Metropolitan City support rate."

Shin Jeonghun strongly criticized this, stating, "Highlighting and distributing only the Gwangju figure, excluding Jeonnam, in the Jeonnam Gwangju Special Mayor primary is, in itself, an admission of spreading fake news. Pretending to be a victim in public while deceiving citizens through crafty editing behind the scenes is a two-faced act of hypocrisy."

In particular, Shin responded to the Min camp’s claim that the promotional material was "a countermeasure to recent media opinion polls," saying, "Selecting and excessively emphasizing only those results from media polls that appear favorable can distort voters’ perceptions. Such practices, while cloaked in legality, can be seen as attempts to rely on expedients and unfair tactics, and are typical examples of double standards and moral laxity."

Shin called on Min Hyungbae’s camp to: ▲disclose the truth about the 33.4% figure, ▲issue an official apology to the citizens and residents, and ▲implement strong measures to prevent recurrence.

He also urged the Democratic Party’s central election commission, saying, "Presenting partial data as if it were the overall result, thereby distorting voters’ perceptions, disrupts public sentiment in Jeonnam Gwangju," and called for a swift investigation and appropriate actions, including a review of candidate eligibility.

Shin emphasized, "Any attempt to undermine the legitimacy of the Democratic Party or the fairness of the primary will not be tolerated. I will ensure a clean primary where citizens and residents choose based on policy and truth until the very end."

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