Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok revealed on the 10th that the names he wrote as ‘Seoul mayor candidates’ on the 9th in the National Assembly plenary session hall were Presidential chief of staff Kang Hoon-sik, former National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik, former representative Jung Chung-rae, and former Trade Minister Kim Hyun-jong.
Representative Kim was captured looking through a notebook in the National Assembly plenary session hall on the afternoon of the 9th. The notebook had ‘Seoul mayor candidates’ written on it, and the line below had letters that appeared to be ‘Hunsik,’ ‘Wonsik,’ and ‘Cheong-rae.’ The next line included the names or English initials of two individuals. Next to the names ‘Lee Jin-sook’ and ‘Han Dong-hoon’ was written ‘OUT (out).’
On the morning of the 10th, Representative Kim appeared on ‘Democratic Party TV’ and said, “‘Hunsik’ refers to Chief Kang Hoon-sik, ‘Wonsik’ is former Speaker Woo Won-shik, and ‘Cheong-rae’ is former Representative Jung Chung-rae.” Regarding the line below, he stated, “(The media) were speculating, but it was actually the word ‘Hyunjong,’” referring to former Trade Minister Kim Hyun-jong. He continued, “I had erased it with my hand, so the media might not have seen it, but there were also Seoul National University Professor Kim Kyung-min and former lawmaker Kim Jin-ae (names).”
Representative Kim claimed, “I believe there is a 99.99% chance of the Seoul mayoral election and the Gangneung National Assembly by-election (in Gangwon),” adding, “It is natural to prepare for it.” He continued, “In the case of Seoul, the candidates who participated in the previous primaries include Chong Won-o (former Seongdong District Mayor), Park Joon-beom, Jeon Hyun-heui, and Seo Young-kyo (lawmakers), and Park Hong-keun (lawmaker and Minister of Planning and Budget). They are naturally considered as potential candidates.” He added, “I have also listed the names of newly mentioned candidates based on what various people have told me.”
Representative Kim said, “What I am sorry about is that I have not yet gauged the intentions of any of these individuals.” He added, “I wrote this while analyzing what kind of candidate would appeal to Seoul and be a winning card.”
Among the individuals mentioned, former Representative Jung posted on Facebook on the 9th, expressing discomfort. He wrote, “Those who dreamed of becoming Seoul mayor but lost, such as Min-seok and Young-gil, are good candidates, so you should write them down in your notebook.”
In response, Representative Kim said, “My name is actually here,” explaining, “‘MS’ written here is my name.” He continued, “I am not saying I will run, but someone suggested that if no one steps up, it would be a disaster, and asked, ‘Shouldn’t I run as in the old days?’” Former Representative Song Young-gil had previously resigned from his party leadership position and ran in the 2022 Seoul mayoral election.
Regarding the note ‘Lee Jin-sook·Han Dong-hoon OUT,’ Representative Kim said, “I wrote this because I thought they should not be in the National Assembly.” He explained, “According to the National Assembly Act, lawmakers can be expelled through the Ethics Committee. We proposed a bill to suspend their qualifications for up to one year with a majority vote in the plenary session.” He added, “I wrote this thinking that if the bill passes, at least Lee Jin-sook and Han Dong-hoon would be unable to serve as lawmakers.”
Regarding the notebook in question, Representative Kim said, “I carry two notebooks and write in one each day,” confirming it was his. He explained, “I entered the plenary session hall when there were no lawmakers present, sat down briefly, and thought there were no cameras, so I wrote everything down, but I was caught on camera.”
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