As the Democratic Party and the Progressive Party conduct unification polls for the Ulsan mayoral race starting May 23, Kim Sang-wook, the Democratic Party's candidate, announced that he would halt the polls due to suspicions of organized interference by certain factions. The Progressive Party responded by expressing strong regret over what they termed a unilateral declaration.
In a statement on May 24, Kim said, "I received information this morning that the polling agency discovered unusual circumstances, leading to the decision to suspend the polls. The trends observed during the polling were highly irregular and beyond what could be typically anticipated, raising suspicions of organized interference by certain factions."
He continued, "We believe that proceeding with the unification primary under the current circumstances could infringe upon the democratic rights of Ulsan citizens, so we deemed it impossible to continue. An emergency meeting of the general election headquarters was convened, resulting in the decision to halt the polls."
Kim clarified, "I want to make it clear that I am not abandoning or rejecting unification. I am not violating any agreements. We will quickly discuss alternative methods for unification and continue to work towards a beautiful unification without pause."
However, the Progressive Party expressed their discontent. In a statement, they said, "We have not identified any unusual aspects regarding the mayoral candidate polling. While Kim's camp claims to suspect interference by certain factions, we have not received any concrete evidence to support this assertion."
They added, "This unilateral declaration contradicts the spirit of our agreement and does not align with the citizens' demand for unity to resolve the ongoing turmoil. We call for a sincere attitude and position from Kim's camp."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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