Reform Party's Cheon pushes back on call to run in Gyeonggi, says 'Suncheon is my only political base'

Reform Party floor leader Cheon Ha-ram pushed back Thursday against a directive from emergency committee chief Lee Gi-in, who formally called on the party's proportional-representation lawmakers to run in southern Gyeonggi Province at the next general election, saying his political base lies solely in Suncheon.

Cheon wrote on Facebook that being told not to run in Suncheon in the next general election was "like a bolt from the blue," reiterating that Suncheon is his only political home.

"I entered politics in 2020 and ran in Suncheon-gap from the very start," he said. "I was a young man from Daegu — a city known as the heartland of conservatism — but it was a decision I made with nothing but the conviction to break the ruinous regional divide between the Yeongnam and Honam areas."

He added that he was determined to win a direct mandate from Suncheon voters in the next general election. "I believe that is the right way to repay the Suncheon citizens who have trusted and supported me, and the path that honors the party's greater intention in placing me on the proportional list so that I could continue doing politics in the Honam region," he said.

Earlier, Lee had unveiled a party reform plan that included a directive reassigning incumbent proportional-representation lawmakers to different electoral districts.

Lee rejected Cheon's application to chair the Suncheon organizing committee and formally called on both Cheon and fellow lawmaker Lee Ju-young to run in southern Gyeonggi Province.

"I understand the weight of the ties and efforts he has built in Suncheon," Lee said of Cheon. "But now that the party's strategic priorities have been set, the floor leader must be the first to rally behind that decision."

Lee warned that if the directive was not followed, he would exercise his authority as emergency committee chief under the party's rules and bylaws.