Chungcheongnam-do Governor Kim Tae-heum has indefinitely postponed his resignation from the gubernatorial post and his registration as a preliminary candidate for the local elections, which were scheduled for the 4th. [Photo=Yonhap News]

Chungcheongnam-do Governor Kim Tae-heum's politics have become too small.

Governor Kim indefinitely postponed his preliminary candidate registration for the local elections in protest of the possibility that former Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk would be nominated for the bye-election in Gongju, Buyeo, and Cheongyang, Chungcheongnam-do. He also postponed his press conference to declare his candidacy, which was scheduled for the 6th.

The stated reason is the political responsibility of former Chief of Staff Chung. The intention is that someone who last served as President Yoon Suk-yeol's Chief of Staff should be in self-reflection. He also indicated that he might leave the party if the party nominates former Chief of Staff Chung.

The words sound plausible. However, this logic is dangerous. The label of "pro-Yoon" has somehow come to be used like a criminal charge.

One might not like former Chief of Staff Chung's candidacy. One might not support him. However, whether former Chief of Staff Chung is qualified to be chosen by the voters of Gongju, Buyeo, and Cheongyang is not a matter for Governor Kim Tae-heum to decide.

Nomination is decided by the party's process, and victory or defeat is determined by the voters. That is party politics and elections.

All Governor Kim can do is express his opinion.

However, he chose pressure over opinion. He has resorted to postponing preliminary candidate registration, postponing his candidacy announcement, and hinting at leaving the party. This is not politics that awaits the voters' judgment, but politics that shakes up the nomination process.

Furthermore, in this region, Kim Hyuk-jong, former Chief of Staff to Governor Kim Tae-heum, has already applied for the People Power Party nomination and registered as a preliminary candidate. It is difficult to read Governor Kim's 'self-reflection theory' purely as a matter of principle, without considering this context.

Interests are not a crime in politics. Cherishing one's own people is also not a crime. The problem lies in packaging those interests in the language of principles.

If former Chief of Staff Chung is the issue, the Nomination Committee can judge based on its criteria. If former Chief of Staff Kim has competitiveness, he can prove it in a primary or nomination review.

However, if the incumbent Governor of Chungcheongnam-do uses the 'pro-Yoon' noose to question the candidacy of a specific candidate, it is not a nomination contest but political stigmatization.

The candidacy competitiveness of former Chief of Staff Chung cannot be overlooked either. Former Chief of Staff Chung is not an unfamiliar figure in Gongju, Buyeo, and Cheongyang. He is a five-term veteran who has served four terms in this region.

Although he lost to Democratic Party lawmaker Park Soo-hyun in the 2024 general election, it was closer to a narrow defeat in a long-term competitive landscape rather than a devastating loss due to a collapsed local base.

As Hankyoreh has already pointed out, the criterion the People Power Party should consider is not 'how far they are from President Yoon Suk-yeol,' but 'who is competitive in that region.'

'Pro-Yoon' is not a criminal charge. One cannot be deprived of the right to run solely for having worked closely with a government. If voters dislike them, they can vote them out. If the party deems them unsuitable, they should not nominate them.

However, the verification of a candidate's competitiveness should not be blocked by the stigma of 'pro-Yoon.' Regardless of whether one likes or dislikes former Chief of Staff Chung, at least he is a candidate who can be evaluated for his local base and general election competitiveness on the nomination review stage.

Then why is Governor Kim Tae-heum acting as a judge? Especially when a candidate classified as his direct subordinate is running in the same constituency.

Governor Kim's logic is selective. The People Power Party's Nomination Committee has confirmed the nominations for bye-elections for individuals close to the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, including former lawmaker Lee Yong, former Broadcasting and Communications Commissioner Lee Jin-sook, and former Vice Chairman of the Broadcasting and Communications Commission Kim Tae-gyu.

Governor Kim drew a line regarding former lawmaker Lee Yong, stating that he was a local party chapter chairman and had no connection to martial law. He also said that former Commissioner Lee did not endorse martial law.

Then the question arises. What is the criterion? Is the entire "pro-Yoon" faction a problem? Is only former Chief of Staff Chung a problem? Are individuals from the Yoon Suk-yeol administration a problem? Or are only those who clash with Governor Kim Tae-heum's preferred candidate a problem?

The term "political responsibility" should also not be used carelessly.

There may be voters who believe former Chief of Staff Chung has responsibility. Conversely, there may be voters who wish to re-elect him. That is the prerogative of the voters of Gongju, Buyeo, and Cheongyang.

Governor Kim Tae-heum cannot make that judgment for them. The moment Governor Kim demands self-reflection from a particular candidate, he becomes a politician who tries to sit in the judge's seat before the voters.

This is petty politics.

Strong politics establishes standards. Petty politics manipulates standards to one's advantage.

Strong politics embraces competition. Petty politics tries to push out competitors under the guise of justification.

Strong politics trusts the voters' judgment. Petty politics disrupts the nomination process before even facing the voters.

Governor Kim Tae-heum's recent move is not strong politics. It is small politics that ties former Chief of Staff Chung with the label "pro-Yoon" and secures space for his own political agenda from behind the scenes.

What the People Power Party should be wary of now is not "pro-Yoon" itself. What is more dangerous is politics that uses the "pro-Yoon" stigma as a tool for nomination.

The noose placed on former Chief of Staff Chung today could be placed on someone else tomorrow. The moment factional labels become grounds for exclusion from nomination, the party loses its standards and degenerates into an organization that eliminates people.

Elections are a process where voters choose people, not a procedure for a specific politician to pre-emptively eliminate those they dislike.

Governor Kim Tae-heum is the Governor of Chungcheongnam-do. It is a position responsible for all of Chungcheongnam-do.

If such a person discusses leaving the party over the nomination issue of a specific bye-election, voters will ask: Is this politics for Chungcheongnam-do? Or is it politics to protect one's own political base?

For someone who intends to step down from the governorship and re-enter the electoral arena, the burden of explanation is even greater. Postponing one's own candidacy schedule while judging another's eligibility is not dignified.

The candidacy of former Chief of Staff Chung does not automatically mean nomination. Nomination competitiveness, local sentiment, and general election potential all must be considered.

However, that judgment is the responsibility of the Nomination Committee and the voters. Whether former Chief of Staff Chung is a candidate who can be re-elected in the region can be confirmed by the ballot.

Governor Kim Tae-heum should not come out with the "pro-Yoon" label like a noose to tie down a specific candidate.

The path to the collapse of conservative politics is clear. It is using the stigma imposed by the opposition internally to favor one's own people.

The moment "pro-Yoon" is used like a criminal charge, "self-reflection" becomes a tool for exclusion from nomination, and "responsibility" becomes a pretext to push out a specific competitor, conservatism collapses on its own.

Governor Kim Tae-heum can criticize former Chief of Staff Chung. But he is not the judge. He can support former Chief of Staff Kim Hyuk-jong.

However, he should not speak only in terms of principles while hiding that fact.

He can talk about leaving the party. But the moment it is perceived as pressure for nomination, it becomes petty politics, not responsible politics.

'Pro-Yoon' is not a crime. Nominations should be judged by process, and judgment should be made by voters.

Candidate competitiveness is not erased by stigma but is verified through nomination reviews and elections. Governor Kim Tae-heum is shaking that foundation.

Therefore, the essence of this controversy is not the candidacy of former Chief of Staff Chung. It is the petty politics of Governor Kim Tae-heum, who uses "pro-Yoon" as a noose.