Cho Kuk, the Rebuilding Korea Party candidate running in the by-election for a National Assembly seat in Pyeongtaek-eul, Gyeonggi, took aim at the Democratic Party of Korea. The move came in response to remarks from the party leadership, made while backing Democratic Party of Korea candidate Kim Yong-nam, that referred to Cho as a "fake Democratic Party candidate."
At a central election committee meeting held on the 31st at the Pyeongtaek campaign office in Gyeonggi, Cho said, "The Democratic Party of Korea's Pyeongtaek-eul candidate and some members of the leadership opposed building a larger and more solid democratic reform camp," adding, "It is politics of petty gain that abandons the greater cause and obsesses only over personal politics."
Cho went on, "I will achieve reform through unity, grow the strength for a return to power through unity, and become a powerful engine that ensures the success of the Lee Jae-myung administration," adding, "If you mark No. 3, Cho Kuk, it becomes an overwhelming Cho Kuk. We can root out the insurrectionist forces."
Lee Hae-min, the campaign's chief operations director from the same party, also noted that there had been a promise to refrain from mutual criticism with the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "When the race started to turn against them, they lightly cast aside the promise and began agitating with harsh language like 'fake candidate,'" and added, "Taken together, the various suspicions surrounding candidate Kim Yong-nam lead to the conclusion that he is exactly the kind of bad prosecutor that democratic citizens cried out in the square to step down."
Cho Seung-rae, the Democratic Party of Korea's chief campaign director, said at a meeting held the previous day at candidate Kim Yong-nam's camp, "It's unlikely, but if you vote for the fake Democratic Party, the People Power Party could win. You must support the real Democratic Party," adding, "If you vote for the fake Democratic Party, (candidate Kim) could be put at risk."