Jangho Kim, Preliminary Candidate for Gumi Mayor, to Take Strong Legal Action Against 'Slander and Dissemination of False Information'

Eradicating the Culture of Dirty Campaigning
Strongly Urges Nomination Committee to Disclose Relevant Data
All Legal Measures Will Be Taken Without Leniency

Jangho Kim, a preliminary candidate for Mayor of Gumi from the People Power Party, held a press conference at his campaign office on the 24th, announcing that he would take strong legal action against what he described as excessive slander and the dissemination of false information by the camp of his rival candidate, Myungbae Im.

Candidate Kim stated, "The decision by the People Power Party's North Gyeongsang Provincial Party Nomination Committee to recommend a single candidate was a procedural decision based on a comprehensive assessment of polling, name recognition, and achievements." He dismissed the rival camp's claims of a "backroom nomination" or "violation of party regulations" as completely groundless accusations and internal strife. He particularly hinted at the existence of overwhelming prior polling results in his favor compared to Im, and strongly urged the Nomination Committee to publicly release the relevant data.

Candidate Kim directly refuted the four main allegations raised by Im's camp—misleading claims about the Nomination Committee standards and the points deduction system; paid promotional activities for higher blog exposure; baseless allegations linking the candidate to Sato; and distortion and slander regarding the issuance amount of the local gift certificates—calling them "unverified slander and defamation."

Kim, who said he had exercised patience so far due to party affiliation, declared, "Im's actions are tarnishing the election culture in Gumi and negatively affecting the entire image of the People Power Party." He also announced that all legal means, including filing complaints with the election commission and the police this afternoon, would be mobilized.

Finally, Kim stressed, "This election is an important fight to rebuild conservatism and uphold the spirit of Park Chung-hee," and urged the rival candidate—who, he claimed, has no ties to Gumi—to stop deceiving citizens with false information and to apologize immediately. He also appealed to all 410,000 citizens of Gumi to unite in rooting out the culture of dirty campaigning.

Gim Jang-ho, a preliminary candidate for the mayor of Gumi from the People Power Party, holds a press conference.
Photo by Kim Ihwan

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