The Ulsan chapter of the People Power Party (PPP) has been engulfed in a serious internal crisis roughly two months ahead of the June 3 local elections. Starting with allegations of "nomination deals and resignation coercion," a complaint filed with the Board of Audit and Inspection against a fellow party preliminary candidate and a declaration to withdraw from a race in protest of primary unfairness all erupted on a single day — April 8 — pushing factual disputes and factional conflicts to a breaking point.
The fallout from the recent PPP primary for the Nam-gu district chief post has been growing louder. On April 8, Bang In-seob, a PPP Ulsan city council member, held a press conference raising allegations of unfairness in the Nam-gu district chief primary process. "If the suspicions about the fairness of the primary are not properly addressed, I will not run in this election," he declared, effectively staking his candidacy on the issue.
Bang made the pointed criticism of the intra-party primary despite having already secured a sole nomination as the party's candidate for the Nam-gu No. 4 district city council seat. "There was a clear discrepancy between the tally independently gathered by candidate Kim Dong-chil's side and the official primary results. Candidate Im Hyeon-cheol's side used the expression 'candidate confirmed' before the official announcement and then deleted it," he said, demanding an official explanation.
This follows the exposé of "candidate resignation coercion" and "nomination deals" that surfaced on April 6.
Piecing together the claims of Kim Dong-chil, a former city council member who ran for the Nam-gu district chief post, and Park Maeng-woo, a former mayor who had entered the Ulsan mayoral race, PPP lawmaker Park Seong-min — who serves as chair of the party's Ulsan nomination management committee — met with Kim at an undisclosed location in the city on March 30, when Kim was still a primary candidate.
Two local figures identified only as Mr. A and Mr. B were also present. They allegedly proposed to Kim: "If you get Park Maeng-woo to withdraw from the mayoral race, we will make you the Nam-gu district chief candidate." Park Seong-min, who was at the meeting, reportedly urged Kim to accept the proposal, saying to the effect that "this has already been discussed with Ulsan Mayor Kim Du-gyeom. They will handle the details. Don't worry."
Former Mayor Park Maeng-woo, who said he heard this account from Kim Dong-chil, reacted with strong opposition.
At a press conference, Park recounted the allegations and criticized: "Park Seong-min, a sitting National Assembly member and nomination committee chair, conspired with Mayor Kim Du-gyeom to commit the criminal act of candidate coercion." He added, "Lawmaker Park should resign from his seat, and Mayor Kim should apologize for conspiring in criminal conduct and withdraw his candidacy registration."
Although the nomination committee chair dismissed the claims as "one-sided allegations," the internal turmoil has spiraled out of control, with a sole-nominated sitting city council member now joining the primary's losing candidate in declaring a boycott over fairness concerns.
On the same day, sharp exchanges also erupted in Jung-gu between members of the same party. Ko Ho-geun, a former city council member and PPP preliminary candidate for Jung-gu district chief, held a press conference raising allegations of favoritism in public property purchases by incumbent Jung-gu District Chief Kim Young-gil, and announced plans to file a complaint with the Board of Audit and Inspection.
Ko alleged, "In October 2025, District Chief Kim purchased a 120-pyeong site near Seongnam-dong Lot 55 for 3.8 billion won — approximately 30 million won per pyeong — under the pretext of an outdoor learning center. Considering the officially assessed land price of 7 to 8 million won per pyeong, this was an absurdly inflated and abnormal purchase price."
He specifically alleged collusion, stating, "When Kim was a district council member in 2017, he vehemently opposed and defeated the purchase of the same site on the grounds that it was owned by 'a specific politician.' Yet after taking office, he bought the identical site at three times the price." He added, "The owner of the site is a prominent local figure who has a senior-junior relationship with District Chief Kim. Mayor Kim Du-gyeom, who approved the budget, must clearly explain whether he was aware of this," directly targeting the mayor as well. Ko also took a hard line, declaring, "If fairness is not upheld, I will not run."
In response, the office of Jung-gu District Chief Kim Young-gil immediately released a rebuttal document and fired back. Kim's side stated, "The claims Ko has been making through media outlets and social media — regarding election commission investigations, alleged fraudulent party member recruitment in 2022, lease disputes, and religious bias — are all distortions of fact or baseless speculation." The statement added, "We plan to respond firmly through judicial authorities against any acts that defame our reputation," signaling legal action.