Jeong Bong-ju hints at running in Geum Tae-seop's district... "Remove Democratic Party members in red jumpers and create a greener Geumsugangsan"

Jeong Bong-ju, former member of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Kim Seul-gi] Jeong Bong-ju, former member of the Democratic Party of Korea, hinted at running in the Seoul Gangseo-gap district, the constituency of fellow party member Geum Tae-seop, in the general election.

On the 13th, Jeong posted a message starting with '"Red Jumper Democratic Party"~??' on the community section of his YouTube channel 'BJ TV'.

In the posted message, Jeong said, "The sortie of Bongdosa is imminent to create a bluer landscape," and "It seems I will challenge candidate K of constituency K~!"

This statement refers to Geum Tae-seop, who represents Seoul Gangseo-gap (K) as his constituency.

Geum was the only Democratic Party member to abstain in the National Assembly plenary vote on the establishment of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Unit (PCC).

During the parliamentary confirmation hearing for former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, Geum asked questions that put Cho in a difficult position and expressed concerns about the PCC law.

As a result, he received protests from ruling party supporters, such as "Go to the Korean Party" and "As a former prosecutor, he is biased."

Earlier, in an interview with a media outlet, Jeong said, "I received requests to run from some party members in Geum’s constituency," adding, "Although it is premature to say it is confirmed, Gangseo-gap is one of several places I am considering for candidacy."

Former Assemblyman Jeong Bong-ju YouTube Community Post / Photo by Jeong Bong-ju, Screenshot from YouTube Channel 'BJ TV'

Jeong continued, "A member of the National Assembly representing the Democratic Party must at least wear a 'blue jumper.' The internal enemy is the most dangerous," and predicted, "The 2020 general election will be a landslide victory with the 'blue' Democratic Party defeating the 'red' party with a 'double' win."

Jeong was sentenced to one year in prison for spreading false information after raising suspicions about former President Lee Myung-bak’s involvement in the BBK stock manipulation scandal during the 2007 presidential election, but was specially pardoned at the end of 2017.

In February 2018, he applied for reinstatement to the party and expressed his intention to run for Seoul mayor, but the reinstatement was denied after allegations of sexual harassment against a journalist trainee surfaced.

He was later indicted on charges including false accusation for denying the sexual harassment allegations, but was acquitted in the first trial in October last year, and the second trial is currently ongoing. In November of the same year, he went through the reinstatement process again and regained party membership.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.