The People Power Party's supreme council meeting on the 9th turned into a venue for denunciations by some attendees over nominations for the June 3 local elections. Supreme Council member Yang Hyang-ja called for an additional call for applicants for the party's Gyeonggi governor candidate, while Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won called for vetting allegations against his rival, North Gyeongsang Gov. Lee Cheol-woo.
Yang, at the supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, this morning, publicly pushed back against the nomination management committee's recent additional call for applicants for the Gyeonggi governor candidate. Yang has applied to be the party's Gyeonggi governor candidate.
Yang said, "The nomination committee has arbitrarily delayed the decision and announcement of the (Gyeonggi governor candidate), diminishing the status and competitiveness of existing applicants," and added, "Yesterday, our party's most-term lawmaker (Rep. Joo Ho-young) even said the party leader should face Choo Mi-ae directly to feel the harshness of public sentiment. Why should we have to endure such mockery?"
Yang said, "Ahead of the additional call for Gyeonggi governor, what is coming out of some party leadership and the nomination committee is grotesque and bizarre beyond measure," adding, "They say they are looking for a businessperson and an AI (artificial intelligence) expert, but what on earth is this absurd talk when I am a 30-year global businessperson and hold a Ph.D. in AI strategic management?"
She continued, "Was Yang Hyang-ja an executive at somewhere other than Samsung?" and criticized, "Because of this defeatism and irrationality, we hear things like 'you people shouldn't even field a candidate' from the likes of Jung Chung-rae."
Supreme Council member Kim Jae-won, who is contesting the North Gyeongsang governor primary, also raised issues such as rival Lee Cheol-woo's health. It was the first time Kim attended the supreme council since declaring his run for North Gyeongsang governor.
Kim said, "Candidate Lee Cheol-woo has been sent to the prosecution with a recommendation for indictment while under police investigation on charges of breach of duty for paying illegal subsidies to gag local internet media outlets that were trying to report allegations of his involvement in violations of individual human rights," adding, "If Lee becomes our party's candidate and advances to the general election, he will face indictments by prosecutors throughout the campaign period, along with a barrage from left-leaning media and the Democratic Party."
He added, "I have requested that the central party verify and disclose the serious health issues concerning Lee," and said, "Given the nature of an in-party primary, this issue has not been specifically raised, but if Lee becomes our party's candidate and advances to the general election, the Democratic Party will not let it slide."
As public complaints and open criticism of rival candidates surfaced during the supreme council's open remarks, the party leadership moved to douse the fire.
Jeong Jeom-sig, the People Power Party's policy committee chair, said, "Within the special committee on revising the party constitution and rules, there had been discussion of creating a rule requiring immediate resignation from the supreme council upon applying for nomination as a head of a local government, but under the complacent notion that such a situation would not occur, we failed to put in place such a rule, and as the chair of the special committee on revising the party constitution and rules, I apologize to party members."
The party leader said, "The party is making great efforts to win the election, and those efforts in the nomination process may differ from the thoughts of individual candidates," adding, "However, even if they did not get the result they wanted, those who have walked with the party should exercise restraint and make sacrifices for the party."