[6.3 Election] "Blinded by Tears"... Aftermath of Democratic Party’s Jeonbuk Governor Candidate Selection

The internal conflict surrounding the selection of the Democratic Party of Korea’s candidate for Governor of Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province is escalating into a serious phase. The aftershocks show no sign of subsiding, as Assemblyman An Ho-young, who had been staging a hunger strike, was eventually taken to the hospital, and local civic organizations held a general rally, strongly pressuring party leadership, including party leader Jeong Cheong-rae, to step down.

Yonhap News Agency

원본보기 아이콘

At around 1:40 p.m. on April 22, Assemblyman An Ho-young was urgently transported to the hospital by a 119 ambulance due to hypoglycemic shock. He collapsed exactly 12 days after beginning his hunger strike in front of the National Assembly on April 11.

After losing the Democratic Party’s primary for Jeonbuk Governor to Assemblyman Lee Wontak in a two-way race, An challenged the fairness of the process and requested a reexamination, which was dismissed. Since then, he continued his hunger strike while demanding a reinvestigation and a new primary, criticizing the party’s ethics inspection team for concluding 'no charges' in just one day regarding Assemblyman Lee’s alleged third-party reimbursement of meal expenses.

Upon hearing of An’s hospitalization, Jeonbuk Governor Kim Gwan-young could not hide his sorrow. On Facebook, Governor Kim expressed deep concern, writing, “I was moved to tears seeing Assemblyman An unable to even support himself.”

Governor Kim remarked, “The question Assemblyman An has raised with his entire being is whether fairness and justice are truly alive in Jeonbuk politics, and it is also an appeal for local autonomy in which the will of the residents should take precedence over any script from the central government.” He added, “Ultimately, the future of Jeonbuk will be determined by its residents. I, too, will fulfill my responsibilities in provincial administration without wavering and will listen to the will of the people with great respect.”

The Jeonbuk Residents' Countermeasure Committee to Prevent the Sa-danghwa of the Democratic Party of Korea held a rally in front of the Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Provincial Council on the 22nd, urging the Democratic Party to conduct a thorough investigation into Representative Lee Wontak, who is suspected of paying for meals. Photo by Roh Junghoon

원본보기 아이콘

On the same day, the 'Jeonbuk Provincial Residents' Countermeasure Committee to Prevent the Sa-dang-Hwa of the Democratic Party of Korea,' consisting of more than 20 civic groups including the Jeonbuk chapter of the National Sovereignty Action, held a general rally in front of the Jeonbuk Provincial Council, strongly criticizing the party leadership.

The committee severely criticized, “The attitude and decisions shown by the Democratic Party leadership during every local election primary have directly denied the will of Jeonbuk residents and have engaged in political abuse, turning the party into a private organization.” The statement continued, “The leadership is recklessly wielding authority temporarily entrusted by party members and shamelessly displaying self-righteous behavior that even mocks judicial justice.”

The committee also demanded, “Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae must cancel the unilateral and unfair primary that goes against public sentiment and apologize to all 1.8 million residents of Jeonbuk.” They repeatedly called for transparent disclosure of the ethics reinvestigation results and for a new primary to be held. Furthermore, they strongly warned that if the party does not comply, “the campaign for Jeong Cheong-rae’s leadership resignation will be expanded nationwide.”

© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.