Gong Byeong-ho: "Agreed to accept 4 requests for re-deliberation by the Supreme Council... No. 1 Jo Su-jin remains unchanged"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Gong Byung-ho, the Future Korea Party's nomination management committee chairman, announced that he has decided to partially accept the Future Korea Party Supreme Council's request for reconsideration. However, former Dong-A Ilbo editorial writer Cho Su-jin, who is number one on the proportional representation list, will remain unchanged.

On the 19th, Gong appeared on KBS Radio's 'Kim Kyung-rae's Strongest Current Affairs' and said, "There were about five requests from the Supreme Council, and we decided to accept about four of them."

Gong said, "Four people within the winning zone will be replaced," adding, "Number three, former Independence Hall director Yoon Ju-kyung is certain, and the rest will be confirmed this afternoon after the Supreme Council meeting."

Regarding the criticism that this scale is not larger than expected by the United Future Party, he said, "Although the number four seems small, about 20% of the 20 members were revised and supplemented through the combined efforts of the Future Korea Party's nomination management committee members." He added, "How Representative Hwang Kyo-ahn will react is a political decision, so he will handle it accordingly, but the election is about 28 days away, so there is not much time left."

He explained the reason for accepting the revision request, saying, "Looking at the content of the reconsideration request, there were concrete and understandable points, so we discussed from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m." He added, "The Supreme Council made reasonable demands, but the United Future Party opposed it, causing public opinion to worsen slightly, and more importantly, the public is anxious."

Regarding the nomination controversy, Gong said it was to form a proportional representation group suitable for a 'wartime situation.' He said, "The talents selected by the United Future Party are mainly prominent figures in each field. We see the next four years not as a peaceful era but as a wartime situation, so we thought we should deploy young and combat-capable people on the front lines."

He emphasized that former editorial writer Cho, who received number one on the proportional representation list, would not be replaced to preserve this purpose. When asked if Cho is a strong combatant, Gong replied, "Yes," and said, "There was discussion about number one, but our nomination philosophy aims to raise the opposition's voice against the ruling party, so we decided to keep former editorial writer Cho."

Regarding concerns that the National Assembly could become a 'battleground,' he said, "There is much public opinion that the Assembly is not demonstrating its capabilities and that blocking bills is too weak." He emphasized, "Looking at this appointment, many people who have been active in civic groups and are good speakers have been appointed."

Meanwhile, the Protestant civic group 'Peace Tree' filed a complaint with the election commission on the 18th against Hwang Kyo-ahn, leader of the United Future Party, Yeom Dong-ryeol, head of the talent recruitment committee, and Park Hyung-joon, co-chairman of the joint election committee, for violating the Public Official Election Act. Regarding this, Gong said, "We must be very careful with election laws. Even when speaking, we must be cautious not to say that we support them or received orders from them." He criticized, "Judging from the statements reported in the newspapers this time, it seems they have crossed the line of what should be careful remarks."

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