Song Eon-seok: "Kim Min-seok must clarify his stance"... Allegations of mobilizing religious groups in primaries intensify

People Power Party lawmakers Choi Eun-seok (from right), Jin Jong-oh, Seo Myung-ok, and Kang Sun-young visit the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's civil service office on the 1st to file a complaint against Democratic Party Seoul City Councilor Kim Kyung regarding allegations of religious group mobilization for elections, and pose for photos holding the complaint. Yonhap News. 

Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, stated on the 4th regarding allegations raised by his party's lawmakers that the Democratic Party mobilized religious groups during primaries, "Prime Minister Kim Min-seok, who is remaining silent, must come forward and clarify his stance."

In a Facebook post on the same day, Song stated, "The suspicion of a large-scale Democratic Party membership drive for Prime Minister Kim is growing," and made the remarks.

He referred to further reports concerning Seoul City Councilor Kim Kyung, who left the Democratic Party after the allegations were raised, and claimed, "They attempted to handwrite over 2,000 membership applications to make it appear as a voluntary join," adding, "Councilor Kim's explanation that he 'only provided guidance on the joining process' has been confirmed as a clear lie."

He continued, "Reports emerged around mid-June that Prime Minister Kim Min-seok met with City Councilor Kim Kyung at a restaurant when he was a nominee for Prime Minister," and said, "Prime Minister Kim must clearly disclose whether he met with City Councilor Kim, and if so, why he met and what they discussed."

He then urged, "We urge a thorough investigation by the police and an inquiry by the Election Commission into the connection between Prime Minister Kim and City Councilor Kim, and Prime Minister Kim's allegations of pre-election campaigning."

Earlier, People Power Party lawmaker Jin Jong-oh had raised allegations of Seoul City Councilor Kim Kyung mobilizing religious groups for primaries, claiming, "When the informant asked about the purpose, (the city councilor) explicitly told them to support Prime Minister Kim."

City Councilor Kim stated that the allegations were fabricated and subsequently left the Democratic Party.

The Seoul City Party of the Democratic Party announced on the 2nd that its internal investigation found that City Councilor Kim had disciplinary grounds equivalent to expulsion, but stated, "No large-scale entry into a specific religious organization was found."

In a broadcast interview the previous day, Jo Seung-rae, secretary-general, commented on the People Power Party's allegations regarding Prime Minister Kim, saying, "To talk about pre-election campaigning based on having one's name mentioned is going far beyond the bounds."

Yonhap News