Democratic Party Contemplates "Reducing Human Risk"

Weight on Fairness Over Securing Seats
Second Recruit Won Jong-geon Returns Qualification
Controversies Surround Kim Eui-gyeom and Jeong Bong-ju

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jin-young] The Democratic Party of Korea is facing a 'personnel risk' crisis ahead of the 21st general election and is taking measures to address it.

As seen in the withdrawal of Moon Seok-gyun, Standing Vice Chairman of Uijeongbu Gap in Gyeonggi Province, the Democratic Party has chosen the value of 'fairness' instead of carrying controversial figures. This appears to be influenced by the 'fairness' issue sparked by former Minister Cho Kuk.

The Democratic Party faced another risk due to MeToo allegations against its second recruited talent, Won Jong-geon. At a press conference held that day, Won stated, "Just the controversy alone has caused harm to the party. The Democratic Party, which reached out to me, is now on the verge of an election," and returned his status as a recruited talent.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, the controversy inside and outside the party does not seem to subside easily. The party member bulletin board is still flooded with criticism. The responsibility is also spreading to the party leader who screened the recruited talents. One party member said, "In a social atmosphere where issues of sexual violence and misogyny are continuously discussed, such problems have occurred, causing a great sense of betrayal as a supporter of the Democratic Party."

Seong Il-jong, floor spokesperson of the Liberty Korea Party, also issued a written comment on the 27th, when the controversy began, criticizing, "The Democratic Party, which recruited Won, should immediately withdraw the recruitment and apologize profusely to all women."

From the Democratic Party's perspective, where every seat is precious, the dilemma between 'securing seats' and 'blocking personnel risks' inevitably becomes a future burden. This is because there are still figures whose controversy flames have not been extinguished.

In the case of former Blue House spokesperson Kim Ui-gyeom, he was embroiled in controversy over real estate speculation allegations. Kim announced his candidacy for Gunsan after stating he would donate all the profits from selling the building in question, but he remains classified as a candidate under continuous review by the Public Official Candidate Verification Committee. The committee plans to hold a plenary meeting at the Yeouido party headquarters on the 28th to continue the eligibility review.

Former lawmaker Jeong Bong-ju, who retired from politics due to sexual harassment allegations, is not free from controversy after rejoining the party. Jeong expressed his intention to run in Seoul Gangseo Gap, the constituency of lawmaker Geum Tae-seop. If these two figures are nominated, backlash is expected as they contradict the party and government’s key values of 'housing price stabilization' and 'gender equality.'

Meanwhile, amid the heated controversy over Won, the Democratic Party announced its 14th recruited talent that day. The new recruit is startup young entrepreneur Jo Dong-in (31).

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