동작을 후보 노회찬 단일화... 기동민 사퇴

Published : Jul 24, 2014 - 16:51 Updated : Jul 24, 2014 - 16:51

기동민 후보가 서울 동작을 후보직을 사퇴하며 동작을 야권 후보는 정의당 노회찬 후보로 단일화됐다.

새정치민주연합 기동민 후보는 24일 오후 국회 정론관에서 기자회견을 열어 "후보직을 사퇴하고 모든 것을 내려놓겠다"고 밝혔다.

기동민 후보는 "여당의 국정 독주를 심판하고 경고하고자 출마하려 했다. 지지해준 당원과 지역민들께 죄송하다"고 밝힌 뒤 "지도부와 상의는 하지 않았다"고 덧붙였다.

이를 접한 누리꾼들은 "동작을 후보 노회찬 단일화 기동민 사퇴, 아쉽네" "동작을 후보 노회찬 단일화 기동민 사퇴, 신의 한수가 되려나?" "동작을 후보 노회찬 단일화 기동민 사퇴, 여당을 압박할 수 있을까?" "동작을 후보 노회찬 단일화 기동민 사퇴, 나경원의 대항마 되나?" 등의 반응을 보였다.

(khnews@heraldcorp.com)

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NPAD runner for Seoul’s Dongjak-B steps aside for Justice Party‘s Roh

The main opposition candidate for Seoul’s Dongjak-B constituency in the July by-elections said on Thursday he will not run, uniting the opposition’s top two candidates in the strategically important electorate.

“I have decided to forfeit my candidacy,” Ki Dong-min of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy said. “I will put down everything.”

With Ki’s announcement, three opposition candidates will face ruling Saenuri Party candidate Na Kyung-won in the strategically important Seoul Dongjak-B district in the July by-elections, which is set to decide the winners of 15 vacant parliamentary seats.

Minor opposition Justice Party candidate Roh Hoe-chan is now considered to be the opposition’s frontrunner according to recent voter surveys.

Earlier this week, Roh and Ki had begun negotiations to unite the opposition under one candidate to face the Saenuri Party’s Na.

Na had been considered the clear winner over the opposition candidates in the Dongjak constituency, with some polls showing the former judge to have more than twice as much support as Ki and Roh.

However, a poll conducted on Monday showed that Roh as a unified candidate would narrow the gap to less than 1 percentage point. According to the same survey, Ki would have trailed Na by more than 10 percentage points even after absorbing Roh’s campaign.

The announcement is expected to worsen intraparty division within the NPAD.

The NPAD’s co-chairs Reps. Kim Han-gil and Ahn Cheol-soo had picked Ki to run in the Seoul Dongjak-B constituency over rival in-house candidate Heo Dong-jun after a much publicized row.

Heo’s supporters had charged party leaders of arbitrarily picking Ki over Heo. Ki himself had apparently accepted his candidacy with hesitation, according to NPAD officials, because Ki had originally applied to run in Gwangju, and not at Dongjak.

Saenuri officials also have been criticizing the expected move.

“The move is a political scandal,” Saenuri Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun said.

(hj257@heraldcorp.com)