The leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea has ruled out Reps. Song Young-gil and Park Ju-min from the Seoul mayoral candidate selection, sparking an internal feud over whether it was fair to exclude key figures without undergoing primaries.

The internal nomination committee of the liberal party decided late Tuesday to exclude Song and Park from the list of possible nominees in the upcoming local elections, hinting the party will search for another candidate to bear its flag and compete with Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon who is looking to extend his term.

Song was reportedly excluded for failing to achieve victory in the presidential election, and the nomination committee believed it was too early for Song to involve himself in another election. Park was excluded over a past real estate controversy.

The exclusion awaits final approval from the emergency steering committee.

The move caused criticism from some members within the Democratic Party, with Song criticizing the decision as “self-destructive” and a way to “essentially give up the June 1 local elections.”

“There are various opinions within the party, and a united decision is not possible in a party that runs in a democratic way,” Song told reporters Wednesday. “As Co-Chair Park Ji-hyun said, we need to abide by democratic principles to unify into one decision if our thoughts are different.”

Park Ji-hyun, co-chair of the emergency steering committee for the liberal party, criticized the internal nomination committee’s decision.

“The nomination for Seoul mayoral race should be decided through primaries,” Park Ji-hyun wrote in a Facebook post early Wednesday. “I label the decision to exclude former Chairman Song and Rep. Park as going against party members, Seoul citizens and the general public.”

Park Ji-hyun said Song was at the forefront of Lee Jae-myung’s presidential campaign and contributed the most during the presidential race. She said if Song is to be excluded to the party’s defeat in the presidential race, former Cheong Wa Dae Chief of Staff Noh Young-min should be excluded from bearing the party’s flag for North Chungcheong Province gubernatorial election.

“Shouldn’t candidate Noh bear greater responsibility than former Chairman Song as he provided the biggest reason for the defeat in the presidential race with the real estate market failure?” Park Ji-hyun questioned. “I don’t know what the standard was in making the decision.”

The decision, if earns final approval from party leadership, is expected to cause a strong shift in the party’s strategy for the local elections, as Song and Park Ju-min were touted as the most likely candidates to win the primaries if they were to be held.

Rumors have surfaced that the liberal party is considering Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon as the flagbearer for the Seoul mayoral race. The party has been struggling to find fresh candidates to fight what is likely to be a steep uphill battle against Oh.

Polls results have shown that Oh would win against any of the candidates from the Democratic Party speculated to run for the Seoul mayoral race.