The Democratic Party of Korea’s top council announced on the 17th that it will exceptionally allow Representative Song Young-gil and former Institute for Democracy Deputy Director Kim Yong to participate in the election, despite debates over their eligibility for the August 17 party convention. This exception will be confirmed after the Party Affairs Committee, which will meet soon, gives its approval. Members of the Pro-Cheong faction on the Supreme Council voiced their disagreement.
The High Council convened at the National Assembly early in the morning and approved the resolution. Chief Spokesperson Kang Jun-hyeon informed journalists following the meeting, “The High Council conducted a vote on whether to grant an exception concerning the eligibility of candidates Song Young-gil and Kim Yong. We have chosen to submit it to the Party Affairs Committee. In other words, the High Council has decided to implement the exception.”
Kang did not reveal the exact outcomes of the vote. Attendees were Acting Leader Han Byung-do, who also holds the position of floor leader, along with Supreme Council members Hwang Myeong-seon, Kang Deuk-gu, Park Ji-won, and Park Gyu-hwan.
A member of the Pro-Cheong faction’s Supreme Council, Moon Jeong-bok, exited the meeting room prior to the vote and expressed his dissent. “I left because I couldn’t support the decision,” Moon stated. “If we make exceptions for every matter, what happens to the party’s principles and criteria? Bringing this up in the first place is ridiculous.”
Moon stated, “Several party members have neglected to settle their fees, either by accident or on purpose, and are attempting to reacquire their voting and nomination privileges. However, these privileges are not being reinstated. At the same time, an individual who has chosen to run for party leadership asserts they were not informed about the fundamental details regarding eligibility criteria. How can this be considered acceptable?”
Moon also stated that Song threatened to “end his political career” if he disagreed with the exception. “These statements were made. How should we interpret them?” Moon questioned. On Kim, he noted, “He was planning to run in the previous public election (the June 3 by-election) and had until November 30 last year to settle outstanding fees. He also had until May 30 to clear debts for this party election, but he did not. Asking for an exception now is an unreasonable favor.”
Members of the Pro-Cheong faction, Park Gyu-hwan and Park Ji-won, also voiced their disagreement following the vote. Park Gyu-hwan remarked, “The candidate registration announcement has already been released, and the procedure has started. It is not the behavior of a party member to hold the party responsible for an individual’s mistake.”
Park Ji-won said, “Today marks Constitution Day, a day dedicated to honoring the establishment and adherence to rules, but it’s disappointing that a resolution acknowledging an exception on the last day of candidate registration was approved. We regret that we have to present such an undesirable scenario to the public.” He further mentioned, “We have stressed the importance of support from individuals in their 20s and 30s. Everyone should consider what message this conveys. I am concerned that the Democratic Party, which is advocating for prosecutorial and judicial reforms, might create a misleading impression that it is not significantly different from corrupt judicial entities.” “The only option left is to rely on the collective judgment of party members during the convention,” he added.
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