Cha Myung-jin "United Party blames me for their defeat... Yoo Si-min, you are really heartless too"

Candidate Cha Myung-jin of the United Future Party, running in Bucheon-byeong, Gyeonggi Province for the 21st general election, is appealing for support from citizens while riding a campaign vehicle in the Sosa District of Bucheon City, Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 10th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Shinwon Yoon] Candidate Cha Myung-jin of the United Future Party claimed on the 16th that the United Future Party is shifting the blame for its defeat in the April 15 general election onto his controversial remarks.

On the same day, Candidate Cha posted on his Facebook under the title "Posthumous Criticism (剖棺斬屍)," stating, "They are blaming the defeat on Cha Myung-jin's Sewol Ferry remarks to avoid taking responsibility themselves."

He pointed out, "Opinion polls already showed a 2-to-1 ratio between the Democratic Party and the United Future Party from the time of candidate nominations, and there was no reversal for a month. After Kim Jong-in and Park Hyung-joon joined, the situation worsened, and individual regional polls showed the same results," adding, "All of this happened before Cha Myung-jin's remarks."

He continued, "They must insist that thousands of opinion polls were false to ignore this fact," and added, "They can only argue that they lost because of Cha Myung-jin."

He also claimed, "Before the election, they said the United Future Party's stagnant support rate was due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and the candidate nomination turmoil," and "They said it was because of an uninspiring leadership."

Candidate Cha said, "But now they say it is because of Cha Myung-jin's controversial remarks," and emphasized, "I ask if there is any data showing that support rates were rising around that time but then plummeted due to Cha Myung-jin's Sewol Ferry tent revelations. I hope they present that and then criticize Cha Myung-jin."

He added, "There were heated protests opposing Cha Myung-jin's expulsion on the United Future Party's bulletin board, and I heard from staff that calls to the central and metropolitan party offices were paralyzed. Isn't that why the Ethics Committee changed the expulsion to a recommendation to resign?"

Candidate Cha also questioned, "No matter how much they control the media, can they reverse cause and effect with such falsehoods?" and asked, "Can they witch-hunt Cha Myung-jin? Can they kill the dead again?"

He also criticized Yoo Si-min, director of the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation, who appeared as a panelist alongside Park Hyung-joon, co-chairman of the United Future Party's joint election countermeasures committee, on KBS's election broadcast the previous day. He said, "Yesterday (the 15th), Yoo Si-min, sitting next to Park Hyung-joon, who blamed the election defeat on Cha Myung-jin, was quietly smiling and then cheering loudly," adding, "Hyung-joon! Si-min! We're friends. You guys are really heartless." Candidate Cha, Chairman Park, and Director Yoo were all born in 1959, and Candidate Cha and Director Yoo attended Seoul National University at the same time.

Earlier, on the 8th, Candidate Cha sparked controversy by stating at an OBS candidate invitation debate, "I already know about an article from May 2018 reporting that Sewol Ferry volunteers and bereaved families engaged in indescribably immoral acts inside a tent." At that time, Candidate Cha was expelled at an emergency supreme council meeting but ran as a United Future Party candidate following a court ruling that nullified the expulsion.

In response, Chairman Park Hyung-joon pointed out that Candidate Cha's controversial remarks about the "Sewol Ferry tent" negatively affected the United Future Party's standing in the metropolitan area.

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