Democratic Party Again Unable to Decide on Jeong Bong-ju's Eligibility... Reexamination on the 9th

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporters Kang Nahum and Jeon Jinyoung] The Democratic Party of Korea once again postponed the decision on the eligibility of former lawmaker Jeong Bong-ju, who faced a defamation trial related to reports of sexual harassment allegations, as a candidate for the general election on the 6th.

Lee Geun-hyung, the party’s Strategy Planning Committee member and secretary of the party’s nomination management committee, stated in a briefing held immediately after the full meeting of the nomination committee on the same day, "The final decision on former lawmaker Jeong’s eligibility has not been made yet, and it will be finalized at the meeting on the 9th."

Lee explained, "There was a lot of discussion today regarding former lawmaker Jeong," adding, "There was a conflict between the aspect of the connection to the sexual harassment case and the fact that he was acquitted in the defamation trial."

Regarding criticism that the decision has been continuously delayed, he said, "This is the first time the nomination committee is conducting this verification, and it was difficult to reach a conclusion in just one day," adding, "All verification committee members need to review documents such as the court ruling." He continued, "Since there is a public perception of a connection to the harassment case, we will make a comprehensive consideration before reaching a conclusion."

On the issue of bypassing the party’s Public Office Candidate Verification Committee (Verification Committee) and moving directly to the nomination committee’s review, he said, "Generally, candidates pass through the Verification Committee before the nomination committee review unless there are special circumstances, so there is a policy to impose disadvantages in the review process for that part," adding, "It is possible to deduct points during the review."

Regarding setting the final decision date as the 9th, he explained, "The 9th is before the interview date. The intention is to reach a conclusion before the interview."

Former lawmaker Jeong announced his retirement from politics after a media report on allegations of sexual harassment against a reporter trainee during his 2018 Seoul mayoral campaign in the local elections. He was acquitted in the first trial of the defamation case related to the report and immediately rejoined the Democratic Party. He has declared his candidacy for the 21st general election and has applied for nomination in Seoul Gangseo-gap, the constituency of Democratic Party lawmaker Geum Tae-seop.

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