[1] He served as a parliamentary aide and policy advisor in the Ministry of Health and Welfare,[2] before becoming deputy spokesman for the Democratic Party.
[4] Ki's selection provoked a widely publicized dispute between the two men, with Heo holding a week-long sit-in protest at the office of the party chairman in response.
[5] Despite being the frontrunner in opinion polling, Ki subsequently withdrew from the election to support Roh Hoe-chan of the Justice Party as a left-wing unity candidate.
[6] The by-election, held on July 30, was ultimately won by Na Kyung-won of the conservative Saenuri Party.
[8] His selection in the 2014 by-election was also widely ascribed to Park, though other commentators associated his nomination with then–party co-leader Kim Han-gil.