Yoon Hee-geun, former commissioner general of the Korean National Police Agency, who had withdrawn in protest over the nomination process for Chungbuk governor, declared his return on Monday, saying he would "take responsibility to the end at the forefront of the path toward a new start for Chungbuk."
"I have engraved in my heart the concerns, rebukes, and patience of the provincial residents, and I now stand at the starting line again," Yoon wrote on his social media account.
"There is only one reason I came back," he said. "I could not turn away from the weighty mandate of the provincial residents telling me to see this through to the end."
"I deeply reflected on the time I fell short and turned the time I stood still into firmer resolve," he added. "From now on, I will prove myself not with words but with results, not with process but with change."
Originally, four candidates had registered for the Chungbuk governor nomination: incumbent Governor Kim Young-hwan, lawyer Yoon Gap-geun, former police chief Yoon, and former Chungju Mayor Cho Gil-hyung. However, after Governor Kim was cut off, former Chungcheongbuk-do Deputy Governor for Political Affairs Kim Su-min joined through an additional open recruitment, sparking allegations of a pre-arranged appointment. Former Mayor Cho and former police chief Yoon withdrew their preliminary candidacies in protest.
With Yoon's return, the People Power Party's Chungbuk governor primary is set to restart under the "Korean Series" format announced by the party's nomination management committee. Under this system, a preliminary primary will determine one candidate to face Governor Kim in the main primary. Lawyer Yoon Gap-geun and former police chief Yoon Hee-geun will compete for the ticket to the main round.
The People Power Party's nomination management committee had previously decided to restart the primary using the "Korean Series" format, including Governor Kim, after a court granted an injunction filed by Kim challenging his elimination from the race.