Jo Gapje Criticizes "Jang Donghyuk's Group Is a Strategic Asset for the Democratic Party" Over First Uncontested Win in Seoul Metropolitan Area

People Power Party Fails to Register Candidate for Siheung Mayor
Im Byungtaek of the Democratic Party Wins Uncontested

Jo Gapje, CEO of JoGapje.com, sharply criticized Jang Donghyuk, Leader of the People Power Party, after the party failed to field a candidate in the 6·3 local elections in the Seoul metropolitan area, resulting in an uncontested victory.

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party. Photo by Hyunmin Kim

On the 16th, CEO Jo posted on his social media account, "It is now clear that Jang Donghyuk and his clique are strategic assets of the Democratic Party," sharing an article stating that the People Power Party had failed to nominate a candidate for Siheung mayor, effectively guaranteeing the uncontested victory of Im Byungtaek, the Democratic Party's candidate for mayor of Siheung in Gyeonggi Province.

CEO Jo continued, "While Leader Jang Donghyuk was in the United States for ten days, meeting with officials at the director-general level or so, the party could not even find a single candidate to run for mayor of Siheung, a city with a population of over 500,000, thus allowing the Democratic Party candidate to win unopposed. If you lack intelligence, you should at least be diligent. But he is only diligent when it comes to making sure the Democratic Party candidate gets elected by causing Han Donghoon to lose," he criticized. He added mockingly, "The Democratic Party is worried, 'What if Jang Donghyuk steps down?' Is he a helper, an informant, a spy, a darling, a bodyguard, or a secret member for the Democratic Party?"

He went on to say, "If we are to check the Democratic Party's runaway behavior, the logical conclusion is that we must first judge the Yoon Suk Yeol remnants, namely Jang Donghyuk's group, through this election. If the far right is struck, the far left in the Democratic Party will also be restrained. Then, the political center in Korea will open up, enabling a national mainstream force that respects the constitution, facts, and common sense to establish a foothold. In June 2026, the necessary choice for Koreans will be to punish the rude group led by Jang Donghyuk, who disregard the constitution, facts, and common sense, and challenge the Republic."

Mayor Im was registered as the sole candidate for the 9th nationwide local elections to be held on June 3, setting a precedent as the first uncontested victory in a local government race in the Seoul metropolitan area. According to Article 190, Paragraph 2 of the Public Official Election Act, if the number of candidates does not exceed the number of positions to be filled (one mayor), voting is omitted and the winner is determined on election day. As a result, Mayor Im became a three-term mayor without a separate voting process.

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