Joo Kwang-deok, a preliminary candidate for Namyangju mayor who has demanded that People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk step back from the front line, said Thursday that he will make a final decision on his candidacy after gauging public sentiment and confirming the party's position. The same day, supporters, party members and prospective candidates for city and provincial council seats in Namyangju urged him to run, saying they "fully support Joo Kwang-deok's decision."
In a statement released that day, Joo said, "My will to run remains unchanged, but I have not finalized my candidate registration." He reiterated his demand that Party Leader Jang step back and that a grand unity election committee be formed.
The clash between the party and Joo escalated the previous day. The People Power Party on the 12th asked Joo to appear before the Nomination Management Committee by 8:20 p.m. to clarify his stance on running. Joo refused, saying "a meeting with the Supreme Council on my demands must come first."
When the central party again pressed him by 7 a.m. that day to confirm his intention to register as a candidate, Joo expressed regret, saying, "They have pressured me in the manner of a final ultimatum." He criticized the central party, saying it "has only checked on my candidate registration intention without responding to my demands."
"The position I recently expressed was an issue raised out of the sense of crisis in the conservative camp that I feel while meeting citizens directly on the ground, and out of desperate loyalty in hoping for the People Power Party's victory," he said. "It was not a demand for personal gain or a position, but a request for a political decision by the leadership on the direction and strategy with which the People Power Party will fight this election."
"As a People Power Party candidate, I clearly express my sense of responsibility and will to run, believing we must win this local election," he added. "I will wait for the leadership's answer with a resolve of 'to die is to live' (sajeukseng)."
On the same day, supporters, party members and prospective local election candidates in Namyangju held a press conference announcing the "Namyangju Citizens' Declaration Supporting Candidate Joo Kwang-deok's Decision."
"We stand here to join in his anguished decision of 'to die is to live,'" they said. "The cry of Candidate Joo Kwang-deok, who has placed himself on the cliff's edge solely for Namyangju's uninterrupted development and future rather than settling for the position of mayoral candidate, was more than a simple echo."
"Since the great work of Namyangju began with Joo Kwang-deok, its completion must also be achieved by Joo Kwang-deok's own hands," they continued. "Just as a house is sturdiest when built by the one who drew the blueprint, only Joo Kwang-deok, who designed Namyangju's future, can take responsibility for and complete that promise to the end."
They emphasized, "The early completion of the GTX-B line, attracting a tertiary general hospital, and the grand blueprint of an advanced industrial city were promises made possible because it was Joo Kwang-deok. These great undertakings must neither come to a halt nor change hands."
They also said, "Even if he is sometimes misunderstood and sometimes lonely, we citizens will always stand behind him as a pillar of support so that the path Joo Kwang-deok walks can be an upright one."
