Song Young-gil and Kim Yong Face Candidacy Crisis Ahead of Convention: "Time Lost to Prosecution Cannot Be Grounds for Disqualification"

Emergency Press Conference Held

Supreme Council Discusses Disqualification Grounds

Questions regarding the qualifications of former Representative Song Young-gil and former Vice President Kim Yong of the Democratic Research Institute have arisen in relation to their registration as candidates for the Democratic Party of Korea’s August 17 Party Convention. On the day the party’s Supreme Council held a meeting on candidate eligibility, Song and Kim held an emergency press conference, arguing that “time lost due to the prosecution cannot be grounds for disqualification.”

In a joint statement, Song and Kim said, “Last night, the Supreme Council decided not to refer the agenda concerning the exception that would allow us, as rights-holding party members, to the Party Executive Committee. The decision has effectively closed off the procedure established by party regulations. We cannot possibly accept this decision, and for that reason, we are addressing the public and party members directly.”

They explained, “Song Young-gil voluntarily gave up party membership to avoid burdening the party, endured 329 days of imprisonment, and was ultimately found not guilty. After his reinstatement, he paid party dues without skipping a single month. Now, however, they say he is short of the required number of payments due to the time taken away by the prosecution.” They continued, “Kim Yong was detained for 550 days with his bank accounts frozen, and he could not use a cell phone or credit card in his name due to a case fabricated by the prosecution. While his ability to make transactions was entirely restricted, they are now claiming he is delinquent on his payments,” they criticized.

Former Representative Song Young-gil and Former Vice President Kim Yong of the Democratic Research Institute walking to the Supreme Council meeting of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo provided by the office of former Representative Song.

The two stated, “Any blanks in our party dues payment records are not evidence of negligence, but mark periods of prosecutorial oppression. The prosecution took time away from us, and now the party is labeling that lost time as grounds for disqualification.”

Both sides have called for the following: “The Supreme Council should immediately reconvene and refer the agenda item on exceptional approval to the Party Executive Committee, and the Party Executive Committee should be convened without delay to deliberate according to the rules so the candidate registration schedule is not affected.”

According to the Democratic Party of Korea’s regulations, only party members who joined more than six months before the eligibility date, and have paid party dues at least six times within the year prior to exercising their candidacy rights, are eligible to run for party office. Currently, Song and Kim do not meet these requirements.

Kim Minseok, former Minister who has registered as a candidate for Party Leader at the convention, also posted on X (formerly Twitter) that “the circumstances faced by both individuals are fully understandable to party members,” and submitted a petition urging that both be given permission to register as candidates.

The Democratic Party of Korea has called an emergency meeting of its Supreme Council this morning to determine whether to convene the Party Executive Committee, which could grant an exception for the two individuals.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.