Min Hyungbae and Kim Youngrok Clash Over Fairness and Government Office Relocation Ahead of Special Mayor Runoff

Min Hyungbae Camp Urges Election Commission to Investigate Alleged Irregularities
Kim Youngrok Camp Refutes "Baseless Rumors" of Relocating Main Office to Muan
Debate Intensifies over Shin Jeonghoon's Endorsement and Alleged Primary Interference

On the eve of the final runoff for the Democratic Party of Korea's Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Special Mayor candidacy, preliminary candidates Min Hyungbae and Kim Youngrok's camps clashed over issues of fairness in the primary and rumors regarding the relocation of the main government office. Both issues are simultaneously emerging as key variables ahead of the runoff vote.

On April 11, Min Hyungbae's "Minshim Camp" released a statement urging the Democratic Party's Central Election Commission to investigate, alleging that Kim Youngrok and certain politicians' campaign activities may be in violation of party rules or electoral law.

Min Hyungbae of the Democratic Party of Korea (left) and Kim Youngrok, the candidate for the Jeonnam-Gwangju unified special market primary election, participated in the final primary debate held at Gwangju MBC Public Hall in Wolsan-dong, Nam-gu, Gwangju on the 9th and took a commemorative photo. Photo by Yonhap News

Yoon Nansil, spokesperson for the Minshim Camp, claimed that Kim Youngrok's team distributed text messages and card news that could mislead the public into believing that the five district mayors of Gwangju and prospective candidates for district mayor positions had officially endorsed Kim. She called this "false and exaggerated campaign activity." She also raised concerns about the public endorsement by Assemblyman Shin Jeonghoon and the alleged involvement of Gwangju Mayor Kang Gijeong in the primary, suggesting potential violations of party regulations and the Public Official Election Act.

She added, "The legitimacy of the primary is built on the trust of party members and citizens," and pledged, "We will respond to unfair practices with every means available."

On the same day, Kim Youngrok's "Tantan Camp" issued a statement refuting the claim that Kim plans to relocate the main government office to Muan, calling it "baseless malicious rumor-mongering."

Song Kihee, spokesperson for the Tantan Camp, stated that "Preliminary candidate Kim firmly intends to jointly operate the three main government offices in Gwangju, Muan, and Suncheon, as stipulated in the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integration Special Act." He added, "The location of the main office will be decided through sufficient public deliberation by forming a 'Main Office Public Deliberation Committee' with citizen participation."

He further emphasized, "Balanced operation to ensure that no region suffers losses is the spirit of the Gwangju-Jeonnam integration," reaffirming the commitment to prevent the exclusion of any region by considering the relocation of public institutions and industrial allocation together. He also said, "We question the motives of those spreading rumors about candidate Kim regarding the main office," and urged, "Immediately stop spreading malicious rumors."

The Democratic Party's runoff for the Gwangju-Jeonnam Integrated Special Mayor will be held from April 12 to 14, using a public participation primary system that reflects 50% of the vote from party members with voting rights and 50% from a public opinion poll of ordinary citizens.

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