Kim Moon-soo: "Our Party's Democracy is Dead... Initiating Legal and Political Actions"

Kim Moon-soo, People's Power Party Presidential Candidate Emergency Press Conference

"Immediate Legal and Political Actions Against Illegal Candidate Replacement"

"A Political Coup at Night... Our Party's Democracy is Dead"

Kim Moon-soo, the presidential candidate of the People's Power Party, raised his voice on the 10th, stating that a political coup had occurred regarding the unprecedented forced replacement of the presidential candidate led by the party leadership. Candidate Kim warned of a strong response, announcing immediate legal and political actions against the party leadership.

On this day, Candidate Kim held an emergency press conference at his Yeouido campaign office in Seoul, stating, "Last night, the People's Power Party's emergency committee illegally stripped me, Kim Moon-soo, of my legitimate presidential candidate status, which was rightfully elected by the choice of the people and party members," and added, "Last night, our party's democracy died. I apologize to the party members and the people who elected me as the candidate despite my shortcomings."

Candidate Kim stated, "A political coup occurred at night. An anti-democratic event unprecedented in the history of Korea's constitutional history and even in global history occurred," and added, "Our party, which was trying to fight the monster named Lee Jae-myung, turned into a monster last night. According to our party's constitution, the presidential candidate is to be elected at a national convention or national committee. However, before the national committee was even held, the emergency committee, which had no authority, decided to replace the candidate."

Candidate Kim stated, "This is a clear violation of the party constitution. The party leadership had decided on Candidate Han Deok-soo even before I was elected as the candidate and tried to oust me," and added, "Eventually, around 1 a.m. today, my legitimate presidential candidate status was stripped. Following this, they forced the submission of 32 documents within just one hour from 3 a.m. I will immediately initiate legal and political actions against this illegal and unjust candidate replacement."

He continued, "I will hold the responsible parties accountable for this situation legally and politically. I will continue to fight to protect the freedom and democracy of Korea," and added, "We will surely protect the freedom and democracy that we have defended with blood and sweat. People, please join me, Kim Moon-soo."

Earlier, the People's Power Party abruptly replaced the presidential candidate under the leadership of the party in the early morning. Election Commissioner Lee Yang-soo announced the cancellation of Candidate Kim's election and the registration of candidates, and accepted candidate registration applications only for one hour from 3 a.m. to 4 a.m. During this time, former Prime Minister Han Deok-soo was the only one to register as a candidate at 3:20 a.m.

Prior to this, Candidate Kim's side filed an injunction with the court to recognize his status as a presidential candidate and to prohibit the holding of a national convention to prevent the candidate replacement, but all were dismissed. Candidate Kim's side announced their intention to proceed with the Central Election Commission's candidate registration scheduled for today, but it seems that the party will not cooperate with Candidate Kim in the necessary procedures for candidate registration, such as stamping the representative seal and the deposit account.