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🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Jeong Jin-seok: “If Chu Kyung-ho is okay, why not me?”…PPP struggles with ‘Yoon Again’ quagmire

From Hankyoreh · (34m ago) Korean Critical tone

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Former presidential chief of staff Jeong Jin-seok is facing internal criticism within the People Power Party for his bid to run in a by-election.
  • Jeong argued that not allowing him to compete in the primary is disrespectful to party supporters and questioned the fairness of candidate selection, citing the case of another candidate facing charges.
  • The party's nomination committee has postponed a decision on Jeong's candidacy amid growing backlash from within the party and criticism from the opposition Democratic Party.

The Hankyoreh reports on a brewing controversy within the People Power Party surrounding former presidential chief of staff Jeong Jin-seok's bid for a parliamentary seat. Jeong, who served as President Yoon Suk-yeol's chief of staff during the tumultuous final days of his administration, is facing significant internal opposition to his candidacy for a by-election in the Gongju-Buyeo-Cheongyang constituency.

I am bewildered by what is happening within our party since I declared my candidacy.

— Jeong Jin-seokJeong Jin-seok's public statement on Facebook expressing his surprise at the internal criticism.

Jeong publicly pushed back against the criticism, expressing his bewilderment and asserting that excluding him from the primary would be disrespectful to party supporters. He pointed to the case of Chu Kyung-ho, a candidate for mayor of Daegu who is also facing charges, questioning why Chu's candidacy is acceptable while his own is being scrutinized. Jeong also directly challenged the party's leadership, accusing the party leader of overstepping his authority in the candidate selection process and suggesting that selecting candidates based on personal preference would not lead to electoral victory.

Not allowing me to go through the primary is not respectful to those who support our party.

— Jeong Jin-seokJeong Jin-seok's argument for his right to compete in the primary.

The backlash has been swift and severe. Other prominent party members, including the incumbent governor of Chungnam Province, Kim Tae-heum, and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, have urged Jeong to exercise self-restraint, given his role as the last chief of staff to former President Yoon, who was impeached and lost power. They argue that the current political climate, immediately following the impeachment, necessitates a more somber approach from those closely associated with the former president.

Who raised objections to this person's nomination?

— Jeong Jin-seokJeong Jin-seok questioning the fairness of candidate selection by referencing another candidate facing charges.

The opposition Democratic Party has seized on the controversy, labeling the People Power Party as the "Yoon Again" party and accusing it of rewarding those who were complicit in the former president's actions. They are demanding the immediate withdrawal of nominations for candidates seen as

Shouldn't we consider the fairness for other nominees associated with President Yoon?

— Jeong Jin-seokJeong Jin-seok questioning the fairness of candidate selection.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Hankyoreh in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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