Nomination Conflicts and the Cho Kuk War... Democratic Party's Once Solid 'System Nomination' Cracks Heard

Assemblyman Jeong Jae-ho's First Retrial Request "Lee Hae-chan's Close Aide Asked Disparaging Questions About Disabled"
Assemblyman Oh Je-se "Claims of Noh Young-min's Involvement... System Nomination Could Be Lost at Once"
Shin Kyung-min and Kim Min-seok Compete for Clarity
Gangseo-gap Geum Tae-seop and Kim Nam-guk Clash Over 'Protecting Cho Kuk' Election... Jung Bong-ju Also Joins Controversy

[Asia Economy Reporter Wondara] Cracks are emerging in the Democratic Party of Korea's 'system nomination.' This comes as Democratic Party preliminary candidates are consecutively raising objections to the decisions made by the Nomination Management Committee. Until now, party leader Lee Hae-chan has stated, "We will win the general election through system nomination screening and fair primaries," and the Democratic Party's nomination process has been evaluated as proceeding more smoothly compared to previous elections.

On the 20th, according to the Democratic Party, Representative Jeong Jae-ho (Gyeonggi Goyang-eul) filed for a rehearing, protesting that the 'cut-off (exclusion from nomination)' decision was 'discrimination against people with disabilities.' This is the first case of a rehearing request. In a statement released the previous day, Representative Jeong claimed, "A close associate of Leader Lee on the nomination committee argued during the nomination interview, 'What if other party candidates attack us for nominating a person with a disability?'" He emphasized, "The fact that such remarks come from within our party shows a very poor perception of people with disabilities, and since this person is close to Leader Lee, it is certainly problematic."

The previous day, Representative Oh Je-se also sent text messages to party members. Oh stated, "There is no doubt that Presidential Secretary No Young-min intervened. The system nomination will be completely ruined," sparking controversy. The Nomination Committee has not yet finalized whether to hold a primary in one of the eight constituencies in North Chungcheong Province, and Oh claims that the party leadership hinted that he is a cut-off target. Former North Chungcheong Provincial Assembly member Lee Kwang-hee and former North Chungcheong Political Affairs Deputy Governor Lee Jang-seop are competing with Oh for the nomination. Among them, former Deputy Governor Lee Jang-seop assisted Secretary No during his three terms (17th to 19th National Assembly) in Cheongju Heungdeok.

Representative Shin Kyung-min claims, "The Nomination Committee violated party rules to save former Representative Kim Min-seok, who has a confirmed guilty verdict under the Political Funds Act." Shin's claim appears to be spreading as a competition for clarity within the party. On the previous day, Shin posted on his Facebook, "I visited Bongha to pay respects at President Roh Moo-hyun's grave and met Mrs. Kwon Yang-sook," adding, "Mrs. Kwon encouraged me to bring good news in both the primary and general elections while worrying about the party's nomination and the Yeongdeungpo election." He continued, "I will build a better Yeongdeungpo and Republic of Korea based on President Roh's 'principles and righteous politics.'" Kim, Shin's primary opponent, left the Democratic Party during the 2002 presidential election unification process between Roh Moo-hyun and Chung Mong-joon, joining Chung's People's Unity 21, before returning.

Gangseo-gap has been a hot topic daily due to the 'Cho Kuk issue.' Lawyer Kim Nam-guk, a member of the 'Cho Kuk White Paper Promotion Committee,' applied for nomination in Gangseo-gap, the constituency of Representative Geum Tae-seop. This has been criticized as an attempt to 'oust Geum Tae-seop' who criticized former Minister Cho Kuk during the so-called 'Cho Kuk incident.' Geum stated, "This election should not be about defending Cho Kuk." In response, Lawyer Kim has been criticizing Geum in daily media interviews. Kim accused Geum, saying, "Why are you trying to even take away the opportunity for fair competition from the youth?" and added, "I hope you stop this low-quality B-grade politics that tries to prevent the youth from even participating in the general primary."

Former Representative Jeong Bong-ju, who was disqualified in the nomination screening due to a Me Too controversy while attempting to run in this area, has also joined the fray. On his Facebook, Jeong criticized, "Democratic Party members who have taken the 'centrist' drug are slaughtering Kim Nam-guk," and questioned, "Are you afraid of primaries that ask party members what they think, so you block Jeong Bong-ju and now Kim Nam-guk with tricks?" On the 11th, Jeong held a press conference at the National Assembly, stating, "The Democratic Party carried out 'emotional punishment' based on political judgment," and warned, "I believe quite a few people will file objections during the nomination process going forward." He also emphasized, "We will observe the party's response and take corresponding action plans," adding, "By now, you probably understand what Jeong Bong-ju is saying."

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