Song Young-gil, the former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is expected to apply for reinstatement into the party on the 20th. He plans to discuss with the party whether to run for the seat in Incheon Gyeyang, his former constituency, in the upcoming June 3 local elections.
According to political insiders on the 18th, Song plans to move his resident registration from Yongsan-gu, Seoul, to Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, on the 19th. To facilitate this, it is reported that he has signed a lease for an apartment in Byeonbang-dong, Gyeyang-gu.
On the 20th, he intends to apply for reinstatement into the Democratic Party through the Incheon city chapter. Song served five terms in Incheon Gyeyang since 2000. His actions are seen as a preparation to contest the by-election in Incheon Gyeyang, a seat that became vacant following President Lee Jae-myung’s election.
In the meantime, Kim Nam-jun, the presidential spokesperson, and lawyer Yoon Dae-ki have been considering running for the by-election in Incheon Gyeyang. If Song decides to run, the dynamics of the election could change.
Song was acquitted in an appeal after being initially sentenced for alleged involvement in the Democratic Party’s convention cash envelope scandal and illegal political funds. In January 2024, he was indicted for distributing 20 cash envelopes totaling 66.5 million won before the Democratic Party leadership election in May 2021 and allegedly receiving 763 million won in illegal political funds through the “Peace and Livelihood Issues Research Institute” (Meoksayeon) from January 2020.
Regarding this, the 1st Criminal Division of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judge Yoon Sung-sik) overturned the original sentence of two years in prison on the 13th, declaring Song not guilty, citing that the evidence was collected unlawfully.