People Power Party Selects Yongin Gap Organizing Committee Chair... Yang: "Are You Going to Cover Up the Issues?"

"We Signed an Agreement, So Why?" vs. "I Didn't Call for a Rerun; We Need a Thorough Investigation"

The People Power Party selected a chair for the organization committee of its party members' council in Yongin Gap, Gyeonggi Province, on October 16, but the conflict that had engulfed the district has yet to subside. Supreme Council member Yang Hyangja, who raised concerns about the primary process, is objecting, asking, "Are they going to sweep all the issues that have been raised under the rug?"

The People Power Party's Special Committee for Strengthening Party Organization decided that morning to select candidate Yoon Jaebok as its nominee for organization committee chair in Yongin Gap. During the primary, some party members did not receive automated response system (ARS) calls because of a problem with the telecommunications carrier. The party sought to address this by holding a runoff revote, but Yang declared she would not take part.

Yonhap News Agency

Jung Heeyong, the party's secretary general and chair of the special committee, said that day, "We held a briefing for candidates ahead of the revote, but only candidate Yoon attended and signed the primary pledge." He added, "After taking into account the other candidate's intention not to participate in the revote, among other factors, we decided to select the organization committee chair based on the original vote results without holding a revote."

Earlier, Jung and Yang had clashed in public. Yang called the issue an infringement of party members' voting rights, similar to the "ballot shortage" during the ninth nationwide local elections, and demanded a full rerun. Jung said, "The telecommunications carrier confirmed that there were no errors in the first-round primary vote." He added, "I suggested a revote, but [Yang] said it would be good to make it public, and we also signed a pledge agreeing to that."

Yang pushed back on social media that day, asking, "Are they just going to sweep the issues that have been raised under the rug?" She said, "I did not break the agreement," adding, "I officially accepted the results of the runoff primary on October 8 and called for a thorough investigation. I did not call for a rerun."

Yang also reiterated her claim that errors had occurred in the first-round vote. "Just before the primary results were announced on October 8, Secretary General Jung acknowledged that there had been 22 outgoing-call errors in the first round," she said. "I understand that, as chair of the special committee overseeing the primary, he may feel a sense of crisis, but he must not deny this."

The conflict is not being resolved easily. Since the party leadership's direct election system for party members was tried for the first time in this primary, the dispute could escalate further. Party members' evaluations are also due to be reflected in the regular audit of party affairs. For example, candidate Yoon, who faced Supreme Council member Yang in the runoff, is seen as close to party leader Jang Donghyeok's camp.

Concerns have also been raised by members of the pro-Han Donghoon faction, including Supreme Council member Woo Jaejoon. Assemblyman Park Junghoon appeared on YTN Radio's "Jang Seongcheol's News Myeongdang" that day and said, "(The controversy over this primary) is like a school violence committee member reprimanding a student who bullied someone, then getting flustered and saying, 'Our son bullied someone.'" He added, "I don't see evidence of an intent to commit election fraud, but for that very reason, I think they should dispel suspicions even more transparently."

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