Kim Young-hwan, the North Chungcheong governor who was notified of a People Power Party nomination exclusion (cutoff), said on the 16th, "They threw away the will of North Chungcheong residents like an old shoe," adding, "I can never accept today's decision."
On social media (SNS) that day, the governor said, "The nomination management committee (Nomination Management Committee) destroyed the principles and procedures of liberal democracy."
Earlier that day, the People Power Party nomination management committee said it would cut off the governor while simultaneously accepting additional nominations.
The governor was said to have heard the news of the cutoff while handling an external schedule that morning, canceled the external schedule, and headed to the office.
The governor said, "From now on, I will do my best to correct the wrong decision and win."
If the governor does not accept the party's cutoff decision, the options available include requesting a review or pressing ahead with an independent run.
However, Lee Jung-hyun, chair of the People Power Party nomination management committee, said of the governor's cutoff decision, "It is not a matter of evaluating one person but a matter of politics and change," adding, "We determined that a leader must emerge who can embody the new spirit of the times, who has the vision and capacity to lead innovation, and who can forcefully carry out the demands for a change of era and generation."
The governor was investigated by police on suspicion of receiving envelopes of cash from figures in the local sports community. There are also concerns that he could be indicted on charges of violating serious civil disaster statutes related to the Osong underpass disaster.