Kim Jae-yeon, standing representative of The Progressive Party, who lost in the Pyeongtaek-eul National Assembly by-election held alongside the June 3 local elections, expressed regret over the result and said the election showed the outcome produced by a lack of unity in the democratic and progressive camp.
Meeting with reporters at the National Assembly on the 5th, Representative Kim said, "We elected seven metropolitan councilors and 34 basic councilors, which is twice the number from the local elections four years ago," but added about the Pyeongtaek-eul race, "It is truly regrettable, and I apologize to the public."
In the Pyeongtaek-eul by-election, candidates from the broader progressive camp — the Democratic Party of Korea, the Rebuilding Korea Party, and The Progressive Party — all ran, splitting the vote, and Yu Eui-dong of the People Power Party ultimately won. Yu won 34.83% of the vote, Kim Yong-nam of the Democratic Party 28.77%, Cho Kuk 27.24%, and Kim Jae-yeon, standing representative of The Progressive Party, 2.95%.
Representative Kim said, "In mid-April, when Candidate Cho announced a run in Pyeongtaek-eul, we judged that the situation itself was a red light for an electoral alliance across the entire democratic and progressive camp," adding, "As rough negative attacks flew back and forth between the Innovation Party and the Democratic Party candidates afterward, from May it was effectively difficult to build an electoral alliance in Pyeongtaek-eul."
Kim also referenced Representative Jung Chung-rae's remark that "unity makes us bigger," noting, "(Representative Jung) contacted me separately and spoke about that," and said, "I believe this election result once again confirmed to the public how painful the outcome can be when unity in the democratic and progressive camp is not realized, as seen in the Seoul mayor and South Gyeongsang governor races."